Fell's Hellmouth
by kaellynn
Summary: Buffy and Spike arrive to Mystic Falls to close a hellmouth.  Can they work together with Elena and friends to defeat Klaus, the Big Bad?  Setting: after BtVS, tVD early season 3.  Spike/Buffy, Damon/Elena.
1. The Road to Mystic Falls

_Spike and Buffy check into a Bed and Breakfast / An Introduction with the Sheriff / Violence at Mystic Falls High School_

Spike stared ahead at the dark road. The mountains here were beautiful when got the chance to see them right at dusk. Even prettier now, as the leaves were already dressed in fall reds and oranges. After the sun faded out into night, pitch trees blotted out the moon and stars. Only a small strip of sky above the road was visible. This mattered little to him; the night sky was a too common sight.

Buffy finished the conversation with her sister. When she flipped her phone shut and set it in the cupholder, Spike tapped his hand impatiently on the wheel. According to the dashboard clock, he had listened to thirty-seven minutes of chit-chat. "Well, what's mini-watcher got to say?" He had overheard the entire exchange, but he wanted her thoughts. Mystic Falls sounded like a bad situation.

Buffy rubbed behind her ear where the phone left a slight indent on her skin. "Dawnie's done her research, and it goes with what Willow told us. In the 1670's, the hellmouth was sealed up by a group of witches. Then it was burned up by the town founders, and recently there's been a whole mess of vamp activity. Some werewolf rumors too, but Oz is still MIA, so no confirm on that. The hellmouth is supposed to be under an old church, so we'll take a look for ourselves and check in with the locals." Her deep-set eyes met Spike's, "Andrew's got connections with family in town, and they have some kind of council to deal with the supernatural stuff." She shrugged, "If they're doing their job, then it's an easy one for us."

He rolled his eyes with a slight shrug. "Yeah, well, they're not. That newspaper we picked up listed five separate 'animal attacks' so I'm not calling it tea and cakes just yet."

"After the last one, I want a vay-cay. Willow said this was the tiniest blip on her astral-dar." Buffy pouted, "Easy work so I don't feel bad about missing Slayer duty, _and_ we get a week or two at a cute little bed-and-breakfast getaway. Don't ruin my fantasy of relaxy time."

His mouth tightened into what would be a smile on any other face. "Then let's not go and say we did."

"Cheater!" She glanced at a road sign. "C'mon, you're so good at closing hell-mouths..."

"I've gotten better at it," he grudgingly smirked. "Only one out of the last six were fatal." Spike enjoyed reminding Buffy that she was not the only martyred hero.

Buffy laughed, "Now that's what Giles calls a success rate. And it's way too late to turn back now – that's our exit." Buffy waved at the road and referenced a printout for the rest of her directions.

...

Buffy slipped out of Spike's arms easily the next morning and found the breakfast station in the lobby. While she ate a cinnamon bun, she picked up _The Mystic Falls Daily_, a local newspaper from the counter and browsed the obituaries. It seemed like there were the usual number of dead that accompanied a vampire problem. She shook her head at the numerous photos of young people. No headlines seemed terribly important. The big story splashed on the front page were about preparations for a Founder's Party happening tonight. After asking the inn-taker for some directions, she set off on foot for the police station.

Her early morning walk through town was quiet. Mystic Falls was a quaint town with large brick houses, wrought-iron gates, and historical markers everywhere. _Old money_, Buffy thought to herself. She had never seen a main street that looked like it could have been on a postcard. The lamp-posts were decorated with pristine bows. The police station was at the end of the street, and it was topped with a clock tower. She sighed inwardly, feeling intimidated by the town's ease with its wealth. Sunnydale had plenty of suburban charm, but there were alleys and dark places. This town radiated with cleanliness, too bright and cheerful.

Only a few minutes of waiting inside yielded an escort to the sheriff. Buffy smiled brightly and jutted out her hand, "Hi, I'm Buffy Summers, a friend of Andrew Wells. I'm sure he told you about me."

Sheriff Forbes frowned slightly as she took Buffy's hand and introduced herself. She recognized the name immediately. Liz walked over to the door to her office and shut it quietly, then asked in a low voice, "You're the Slayer?"

"Yu-huh," she nodded, using her bubbliest voice. "And Mystic Falls has a vamp problem. What's the deal?"

Elizabeth Forbes' eyes dropped to the floor, then met Buffy's. "We have it under control."

"Really?" Buffy grinned falsely. "That must be pretty neat, having the police actually know about this kinda stuff. Most places I've visited, the law doesn't even do damage control. But I still want to check out the old church where it all went down. Word is that's a hellmouth in the making. Once it gets clear, I'll be out of your hair."

"A hellmouth?" The sheriff's furrowed brow showed real concern.

Buffy laughed lightly, "There are some places where the boundaries between dimensions blur a bit and let demons and vampires out. My job is to close the gates when we find them. It's no big." She folded her arms, "You know, I also heard that there's a Founder's Council that deals with these sorts of problems. I'd like to sit in on the next meeting."

"I could hardly refuse," Elizabeth inclined her head genially. If she denied the Slayer anything, then her stream of information about the latest strategies in vampire hunting that leaked out of Italy would dry up instantly. Andrew had been very clear about that. "Our next meeting is actually tonight at the Founder's Party and Heritage Display. It's at the Lockwood's... You know what, you'll need a map of the town anyway." The sheriff led Buffy out of the office to a deputy's desk. She instructed him, "Give Ms. Summers a town map, and direct her to some of the landmarks. She's particularly interested in the ruins of the old Fell Church."

After overseeing Buffy's exit, the sheriff went back to her office and glanced worriedly at an old picture of her daughter, Caroline.

...

Buffy spent the rest of the morning wandering through the streets and marveling at the scenery. The map led her around the graveyard, a park, and through more perfect brick neighborhoods. Her breath curled into crystals as she walked, perfect fall weather for large jackets and crunchy leaves. She looked at the sign in front of a large school. Mystic Falls High School.

Her feet took her inside without pause, and she found herself in a hallway watching students flow past her during their break. A student jostled her slightly and they exchanged a brief smile before she jerked herself awake. _There's no hellmouth under the library or in the basement_, Buffy reminded herself. _I seriously should have stopped myself before barging into a random high school._ Jamming her hands in her pockets, she shook her head out and headed for the exit.

But then she heard it. "Vampire." Not her imagination, she confirmed to herself. That word was definitely a part of a conversation. Buffy narrowed her focus and walked towards the source, a group of girls. Stepping behind an open locker door, she listened for more.

...

Caroline reapplied her lip gloss between classes and kept talking to Bonnie and Elena. "He just didn't get it, you know? He doesn't want to be normal and boring, but then he got all freaked out at the idea of being anything else. He needs to appreciate what he's got. I would give anything to be human again."

Bonnie chimed in, "Matt's just not used to the situation because he isn't immersed in it 24/7 like we are. Give him some time." After switching her schoolbooks to a different hand, she patted Caroline on the shoulder.

Elena nodded her agreement. "The first time each of us got into all this, it took some time to really adjust. Of all the people..."

"I should know," Caroline continued. "See, I get it. He doesn't."

Stefan strutted past the locker that Buffy had hidden behind and joined in their conversation. "I can help you immerse him in our culture. All it takes is a bite," he volunteered.

All of the girls frowned at his presence, and Elena pushed him slightly, "Don't even think about it." Stefan smirked in response, then trailed them to class.

...

Buffy tracked the group, specifically focusing on the boy who joined them, a handsome kid with brooding issues etched into his forehead. "Hey," she called to him in the crowd before he entered a classroom.

He turned to look directly at her and paused in the doorway. Stefan tilted his head, "Aren't you a little old for high school?" he asked. The girl in front of him exuded confidence to rival Rebecca's and style that screamed 90's. If she were human, he'd put her age in the 30's. But he never assumed that newcomers were human.

She smiled, "I guess it takes one to know one, doesn't it?" Her pep took him off guard, and before he could react, she was standing next to him, her arm clamped over his. "Let's go for a walk."  
>Stefan's jaw set and he looked into the classroom. Elena took her seat next to Bonnie. They would be fine for forty-five minutes while he dealt with this new girl. Even Klaus trusted Bonnie to keep Elena safe. Alaric had already begun scratching out history notes on the chalkboard.<p>

Buffy saw worry in his eyes when he glanced into the room and became curious to know what he was protecting.

...

Once they got a safe distance from the school, Stefan attempted to move quickly to gain control of her grip on him. She was just as fast and kept a tight hold on him. She must be some other vampire or hybrid, he deduced. This town was starting to get lousy with all of the above. "Who are you?" he questioned.

"I'm your friendly neighborhood vampire slayer," Buffy quipped. "My turn. Don't you find the sun annoyingly bright?"

He shook his head and attempted to dissemble. "Guess that means I'm not a vampire. No need for slayers here."

"That was almost like a joke," Buffy's lips quirked. "Are you trying to out-banter me? Because you should know, I'm pretty much the queen of snark." Her arms released him and she began circling him slowly.

His stern face glared back at her as he chanced a look at her eyes. She didn't shield them from him, so he pulled forth the blood to compel her, "Why are you in Mystic Falls?"

Buffy saw his eyes contract and dilate. She'd seen this trick before from Dracula. She let herself answer, deciding to save her energy for the coming fight. Which would definitely happen now. She allowed no one to poke around her head with mind tricks and live. "To slay vampires. Hence the title. Vampire Slayer." She slid Mr. Pointy out of her jacket sleeve. "There's zero point in denying what you are, so tell me, what's your story?"

Stefan felt her resist the compulsion and frowned, then stepped back at the sight of the stake. "We don't need to fight," he put his hands up in surrender, hoping that he could keep her talking.

"Oh yes we do," she insisted. "But I'll let you delay the slaughtering a while longer." Buffy saw a glint of light off the ring on his finger and blinked. "Tell me everything. Like who your little high school friends are and who's been killing people. Oh, and the church - don't leave out any details on Fell's Church, please," she brandished the stake threateningly.

When he kept silent, Buffy shrugged. "Okay, just let me know if I've guessed it right. You're a vampire, that's a gem of Amarra, you're protecting one of those girls in there, and you drained two bodies dry this morning so you wouldn't make a mess at school." All educated guesses, but she was willing to bet heavily on each of those points. Years of watching, stalking, and slaying vampires had taught her more than classes ever did.

Stefan kept his head from nodding along. How many days had this girl been following them? Did she know about Klaus? "I don't know if this ring has a special name, yes, and three," he corrected, referring to his breakfast. Three girls dead in the foyer at the Salvatore boarding house. "Do you-"

"Oh, goody," she interrupted before he could start his own line of questioning. "An unrepentant vampire. Exactly what I specialize in." Buffy's arm came in for a punch, keeping the stake in reserve.

He slid his legs around hers to force her to trip, but she reacted with a flip and was over his chest when he was recovering from the attack. His veins swelled with black blood, a foot knocking the stake out of Buffy's hands. She took a few blows from him while she dove to retrieve the weapon, crying out a few times in pain. As his arms cradled her neck for a quick snap, the stake thrust through his chest, sending him into paralysis.

Standing up, Buffy found herself dusting off imaginary ash from her pants. His body lay still, bloated and discolored in the scattered leaves. "Unusual," she remarked to herself, then looked closer at his blue face curiously. After a moment of reflection, she rolled her eyes and pulled the ring from his hand. The body burned away in the sunlight, darkening and then floating away into the slight wind like paper ashes. She watched the body burn before walking away.


	2. Freedom

_Spike gains a new accessory / Buffy sits in on the Founder's Council Meeting / Violence in the Lockwood Manor_

Spike was watching his mid-afternoon soaps when Buffy flung open the door. The evil twin from Passions just confessed to her husband that she had a baby by some other man. Spike looked up at Buffy's entrance distractedly, one eye still on the television. She dropped the ring into his hands. "Try this on for size." The ring had a large dark blue gem set in marked silver.

He smirked, "Oh, you shouldn't have. It's hideous." He rolled it around his hands, taking a close look at its design. "What is it for, pet?" He looked up at Buffy, who was standing by the window curtains, ready to draw them open. Spike easily concluded her purpose. "Fine. But when I burn to a crisp, it's your fault." It slid onto his ring finger easily.

She pushed the curtains aside, and he winced as sunlight bathed him. His skin only tingled with the warmth of natural light. After a moment, he opened his eyes cautiously and looked out at the trees in the front yard. Spike's jaw opened, then he ran out the bedroom door, skipping three steps at a time down the stairs out the front door.

Buffy chased after and found that he didn't go far, standing on the edge of the porch steps. He was looking straight at the sun. She bit back her sarcastic comments and took Spike's hand in hers. His gaze moved to the trees in their fiery fall splendor. "I'm _not_ giving this back." He pulled her closer.

"Well," Buffy remarked, "The original owner's dead, so you can keep it. Pro tip: you're not invulnerable to stakes."

Spike let out a laugh and looked at his love. "You're even more beautiful in the sunlight."

...

Spike refused to let the daylight out of his sight. They sat on the steps and watched the sun set as she caught him up on events. "The sheriff was obviously lying to me. I think this council is covering up some serious problems. And what I heard at the high school suggests that a lot of kids are exposed to vamp culture. Plus, it's only been one day here and I'm starting a tally. So you might be right, this could be a long trip..."

He agreed, draping an arm over her shoulder. "I'm a little more anxious about the types of vamps we'll get here. You said there's no graffiti, no slums, no scary headlines. That means some vamps are probably on this council, and it'll be all politics."

The couple shared a sour face.

...

In the Salvatore Boarding House, Damon pulled on his pants. For him, this marked one full year as the head of the Founder's Council. He smirked mockingly as he picked out a shirt for the Founder's Party. Fingers brushed past his wardrobe collection until they rested on dark red.

A clicking sound from below alerted him to a new guest at the door. He ambled down the stairs, pulling a sport coat over the buttoned down shirt. It was Elena, with her straight hair pinned back and her small figure in a dark dress. She looked hesitant to enter the main room, standing idly in the foyer. Damon knew she wasn't here to visit him. Annoyed at Stefan's fortune, he responded to her unanswered question, "He's not here."

Elena twitched her head upward at his voice. "Good. I mean," her eyes cast aside, "I don't know. I expected him to escort me to this, even though..."

Damon lifted his eyebrows, "Even though I had to spend the afternoon cleaning out the bodies of his victims from the living room?" His celerity brought him to her side in an instant. With his hand set on her waist, he pushed her softly back towards the front door. "I'll take you. Come on."

"I can drive myself," she glared, upset that he had to constantly remind her of Stefan's new heartless ripper self. "I just thought my Klaus-appointed bodyguard would be here."

"Hm," Damon pulled away from Elena to lock the doors. "He didn't follow you at school?"

She shook her head, letting her brunette hair swing along her back. "He was there, and then left suddenly, right before history."

"Then he's planning a nasty surprise, and I'm definitely taking you." Damon pursed his lips, then swept her to the passenger side of his car, opening the door for her. Elena stiffened with alarm at his sudden touches, then nodded, seating herself. His eyes lit and settled on her, "It's a date."

She turned away, hand over the door lock. "Oh my god, don't even go there." Every time she thought of Damon, she saw his brother Stefan. Now that Stefan was a ripper, she only saw violence and hate in Damon. Which, she reflected to herself, would have been more accurate last year. Now Damon was gentle and kind to her, and yet she could only see Stefan's emotionless face. The irony almost choked her.

Damon grinned smugly. "I'll be gentle." The car eased onto the road while he thought about Stefan's whereabouts.

...

Paper lanterns glowed softly throughout the Lockwood property, illuminating pathways for the townspeople. Damon looked to the girl at his arm. He noticed that she was taking short steps, a sign that she was anxious. He wished he could sit with her for a while under the stars, but the meeting was scheduled to begin soon. Damon sighed at the crowd and finally laid eyes on Alaric. He guided Elena to the Gilberts' unofficial guardian. "Keep an eye on her while I go to the council meeting?"

Ric nodded in automatic agreement, then frowned. "Actually, I can't. I'm taking John Gilbert's place on it." Two sets of furrowed brows found his face.

Elena responded first. "That's Jeremy's place."

"He is a kid," Alaric hissed, "in high school. I thought you wanted a normal life for him."

Damon interjected before Elena snapped at the teacher again. She couldn't afford to make her allies upset. "Is Bonnie here? She is a _great_ babysitter."

"You know what, I don't need constant surveillance. Between you, Stefan, Klaus, my friends, and frankly, this entire town, I think I can make it out of one little party alive," Elena stormed off without hesitation.

Damon held up a hand to silence Alaric's comments as she turned away to look over the crowd again. Bonnie and Jeremy were just arriving through the gate. He waved to catch their attention and then pointed at the retreating Elena. Bonnie nodded in response while a bewildered Jeremy followed to join his sister.

Damon turned his attention to Alaric. "So glad to have you joining us," he told the other man with a sarcastic bent to his words. Damon walked into the mansion and headed directly for the meeting room as Alaric trailed behind with a resigned look.

...

As usual, the meeting room for the Founder's Council was set in a private room of the mansion. Everyone that Damon recognized was assembled, so he moved to close the doors behind them. The sheriff placed a hand on his arm. "We're still waiting on one more."

Damon turned to face the small group, "Another surprise guest? I can't wait." He tapped a foot impatiently and glanced out the room when Buffy, a blonde with dark eyes and a lightly muscled figure peeked into the doorway. The sheriff recognized her and pulled the doors shut after her entrance.

Damon looked at the slayer for a long moment, attempting to place her in his long line of memories. With no recollection surfacing, he started the meeting. "Mr. Alaric Saltzman is, with the grace of the Gilbert family, temporarily taking their place on this council. And our new arrival is..." he gestured to the sheriff to complete the other introduction.

Elizabeth Forbes stood akimbo, "The Vampire Slayer, Miss Buffy Summers. She was sent by my contact from Italy to assess Mystic Falls." Alaric's eyes widened slightly at Buffy's introduction, but Damon had managed to keep his expression still. They both wondered if her last name made her connected to the late Jenna.

Damon's eyes then narrowed on the sheriff for a moment before he snapped back into a smile. Her connections to Italy were a new piece of information that he would have to ask her about. "Welcome, Alaric and Buffy. We like to keep things simple here. Ms. Forbes, are there any new reports lately?"

The sheriff shook her head. "Nothing, deputies. Right?" The trio nodded.

"Ms. Lockwood?" He gestured to the mayor. Around the room, all the members of the council denied any vampire activity. Damon saved himself for last. "Great to hear. I've got nothing to report as well. So far the only uncaptured vampire at the moment remains the one that killed Jules and Jenna last month. Since there's no new activity, perhaps that one has simply moved along elsewhere."

Everyone ambled uncertainly and nodded. Damon tilted his head to the door. "Okay, meeting adjourned."

Buffy watched the short meeting with a disbelieving smile. Everyone was hiding something with their swift denials, especially Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Lockwood. And she felt a nagging persistent recognition of Damon from her dreams. "Wait up, not yet. Meeting stays here. I'm looking for info on the old Fell Church. There's been a magical mix-up there that I'm here to investigate. Any thoughts?"

Damon re-assessed the slayer mentally. She had access to interesting information, friends around the world, a possible relative in the deceased Jenna, and had found her way to Mystic Falls to check on the fallout of the fake Sun and Moon ritual. She wasn't just someone with delusions of being a vampire hunter, like Alaric.

He played his words closely, hiding that he knew much more of what happened the previous month. "That was the site of the young ladies' deaths. Do you think it was a ritual?" When Buffy nodded, he took the initiative, "I'll take you around the area sometime tomorrow if you'd like to see for yourself."

After another round of silence, he was able to dismiss the meeting. Everyone nodded politely to Buffy on their way out. Sheriff Forbes shook her hand in farewell, "You're welcome to come by the station anytime you need something."

"Thanks," Buffy replied graciously, still not able to place why she found the sheriff untrustworthy. "Enjoy the rest of the party." The other guests filtered away, leaving Alaric and Damon hovering at the entrance.

Alaric hesitated to leave, wanting to confront Buffy; but Damon stared him down and guided him with a firm hand to the door. Damon pulled the door closed, leaving the two alone. Still trying to disaffect her with feigned ignorance and charm, he approached her with his cell phone in hand. "You should call me whenever you like for that field trip to the church," he explained, giving her a number. Buffy innocently exchanged hers as well, then noticed a blue sparkle when he deposited the phone back in his pocket.

"What's that?" she asked, gesturing to the ring.

Damon's eyes eased onto the slayer. With her experience she wouldn't ask out of actual curiosity, he reasoned. She had to know exactly what it was. And what he was. "Why bother asking?" he said with a tight smile, mentally reviewing the exits.

"Because I've seen another one like it," she chirped, "on a vampire I slayed this afternoon. Would you know him?" Her stake made its way into her hand easily. "He was at school." Her glossy lips curled into a smile. "I can do a repeat performance if you're not willing to make with the gab."

Damon recoiled, his gut aching. "Stefan?"

"Only a couple of vamps make it into my rolodex. I never caught a name." She advanced on him. "What I got from him were a profound lack of answers about the massacre that is going on in Mystic Falls. Spill."

Damon put up his hands slowly. He spoke calmly, trying to infect her with his stillness. "I'm not interested in a fight with you, and I can tell you a lot of things you probably want to know, but first I need to know if it was Stefan."

Buffy shook her head. "Honestly, I couldn't even tell you unless you had a picture." She reconsidered, "And I'm not big on negotiation. I make the demands, and you give in."

"I'm interested in a peaceful exchange," he lied and placed one foot forward. "If it was Stefan, then you killed my brother. I have a picture of him in my wallet."

Buffy considered this. He was either the biggest actor she had seen or he truly cared about someone. And caring meant that he could talk without his fists. Damon seemed hung up on this, and she was curious enough to follow it through. Buffy walked around Damon and yanked the wallet out of his back pocket. Retreating to a safe distance, she flipped through the plastic holder. Some girl, a dog, a baby. She paused, "Are these pictures fake?" Buffy asked, holding up that one.

Damon smirked when he saw the baby. "Stock photo with the wallet. Stefan's the last one." In fact, she was examining Stefan's wallet. Damon was not sentimental enough to bother getting wallet pictures. He took it off of his brother when they last fought and had forgotten all about it until now.

Buffy looked at the last picture, one of Stefan and Elena smiling together. She recognized Elena as the one who had pushed Stefan away in the conversation at the high school. "She likes him?"

"She loved him," Damon frowned, knowing the picture well, "So it _was_ Stefan."

"Yeah, this guy's dust." Buffy flipped the wallet around to show Damon the picture and confirmed his worries.

Damon let out a long sigh. Buffy waited, stake firmly fixed in her hand. Damon dropped his arms and moved swiftly to her, fist outstretched to punch out at anything he could reach. Buffy kicked out just before he got in range, used to reacting at vampiric speeds. Damon was thrown into a table, breaking its legs and momentarily bruising his back. He tumbled and threw the surviving tabletop at the girl.

Buffy half-dodged it, taking a serious smack to her left leg before landing on top of Damon with an elbow slammed into his ribs. He grabbed at her stake-arm, trying to keep the weapon out of range. A tug of war ensued, broken only when Buffy's legs snaked around Damon's and gave her enough leverage to pull away completely.

She stumbled to her feet as Damon did the same. Another onrush of speed and strength by the ancient foes of vampire and vampire slayer followed, too fast for any human observer to note. A vase broke, some books fell out of place, and just as quickly, the two broke apart.

Damon's rage filled his body. He didn't see furniture or a girl, he only saw weapons and a target.

His next attack was more vicious, and Buffy soon stopped countering to reserve her strength. She only used her speed to dodge and weave, waiting for any opening possible. When a lunge took him a little too far, she struck, delivering a heavy punch to his ribcage. He tumbled to the ground but dragged her down with him. They each struggled to gain control of a grappling hold, and Damon won out, pinning her arms to the ground.

Buffy struggled before she realized that he had her held down too tightly. She could probably topple his balance atop her with her left knee, but before she tried that maneuver, she considered his position. Damon's only chance at a killing blow was with his fangs, and for whatever reason, he hadn't gone for her neck yet.

A better recourse was to talk to him. "You're a better fighter than Stefan was," she said.

A twitch in Damon's features indicated that he was listening. His red-filled eyes cleared after a moment. "Of course I am. Otherwise he wouldn't be dead right now," he muttered with a trace of smugness.

Buffy looked up into the now blue eyes of Damon Salvatore. "I don't know, it looks like you can't finish the job either."

"Hm," he conceded. "I'm better, though?"

Buffy nodded, feeling flippant, "Oh, definitely. He lacked follow-through. Not very passionate, either."

"I need a drink." He released her and stood up. "I forgive you."

She scoffed, "You can't forgive me for killing vampires. That's what I do. And I'm not sorry about it." Buffy warily stood up and massaged her wrists. Stopping a fight with just words was a new experience for her.

Damon had already poured himself a drink from the bar cart. "Stefan was my brother, and he lost his humanity recently. He wasn't himself, terrorizing the people he loved. But we couldn't kill him. Not because we weren't strong enough," he smiled sadly, "because we hoped he could come back to us." Now that his mind was clear, he regretted lashing out at her. "Sorry if I hurt you. I just," he shrugged to himself, finally able to admit it, "I loved him."

Buffy pulled her hair back out of her face, remembering a similar situation she had with Angel. "I guess I am sorry about Stefan." She pushed, "But I need to know about everything that's been happening in Mystic Falls. The truth, or I can't do my real job."

"And what's your real job?" Damon sat on the only surviving couch in the room, drinking from a glass of brandy.

Buffy sat with him. "I'm here to close a hellmouth under Fell's Church."


	3. It's True

_The gang meets Spike / Elena learns about Stefan_

Elena marched across the lawn and bumped into Spike. "Hey luv, got a light?" She glanced up at him shakily, shook her head, and kept moving on until Bonnie and Jeremy encountered her in the crowd. Spike pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, taking the moment to sniff out the crowd. Other vampires were here. He stuffed the cigarette behind his ear and took a closer look at the townspeople. A cute blond was his nearest lead.

Caroline saw the stranger approach and grabbed Tyler's hand, dragging him to her other friends for safety in numbers. Spike followed closely behind, not bothering to hide his presence. She was definitely a vampire. The amulet that Willow made for him sent a warm tingle across his chest every time he looked at her.

He singled her out of the group. "Sweetheart, got a minute?"

Caroline shook her head nervously, "No." Elena and Bonnie now pointed their attention to him. Five sets of eyes glowered at Spike.

"Fine." Spike grimaced, not unused to the hostility. "Let's all have a little talkies. This lovely young lady is a vampire. How many others are?"

Tyler stepped between Caroline and Spike. "Who the hell are you, man? Leave her alone."

Spike absently put the cigarette back into his mouth, not bothered that it wasn't lit. "No." His head tilted in amusement at the boy's foolhardiness. The ring on his finger caught Elena's eye. Before Spike could suss out what the girl was doing, her hand reached out for his.

"Where did you get this?" she whispered, recognizing Stefan's ring.

This must be the same group that Buffy overheard in school, Spike figured. The descriptions fit, and this girl knew the original owner. "Off your dead friend's body."

Bonnie was the first to react, and it was with a slight smile touching her almond shaped eyes. "You killed Stefan? Thank god someone finally did it."

Elena, still frozen with her hand clamped over Spike's, licked her lips. He saw her eyes watering up in fear. Not of him, he was certain. She feared that he was telling the truth. A tear finally rolled down her cheek. "Yeah. Thanks." She let his hand go, then ran away from the group towards the mansion. Jeremy chased after his sister.

Spike grinned at the remaining group. "Awkward." He raised his eyebrows at the witch and attempted conversation. "You didn't like him much?"

Bonnie watched Jeremy leave, then returned her attention to Spike. "We used to like him, before he became a ripper. Now..." her mouth settled confidently, "he had lost his humanity. I meant it. Thanks for getting him."

"Well, I'm not grateful." Caroline pouted, "He could have been saved."

"After how many more dead?" Bonnie accused.

"I just..." she despaired, "What if I got like that, you know?"

Spike rolled his eyes. He was not going to find anything else out from this crew while they bickered. The only useful information here was that the vampire problem was definitely bigger than the Scoobies originally thought. He sauntered away as the girls continued.

Tyler narrowed his eyes at Spike's back. Whatever made him able to sense vampires did not seem to help him detect hybrids, witches, or doppelgangers.

...

Jeremy caught up with his sister at the steps, stopping her from going any further. "Where are you gonna go?"

She stopped weakly. "Find Damon, see if it's true."

"How would he know any more than we do? You just saw him moments ago." Jeremy asked, tugging her to sit on the steps. They sat next to each other on the cold stone.

Elena lifted her shoulders, "I don't know. I don't know..." She didn't cry, but Jeremy held her there, hoping that his arms and warmth would be enough to help. They stayed sitting there in stillness, and their friends eventually watched from a distance but never approached.

...

Buffy mentally sorted through everything Damon had told her so far and couldn't come up with more questions. "That's a hell of an adventure so far," she said.

"It's been a tough ride," he agreed, standing up to leave. "Look, I like to work alone. But with Klaus, and whatever hybrids he's managed to scare up so far, I can't protect Elena on my own."

Buffy understood, "I'm definitely on board. I've got to give it some thought and get some research out there, plus we'll meet up tomorrow for that tour, right?" She had no reservations in counting him among her allies now. The combat felt honest, and his stories that followed were stamped with the selfsame genuineness.

They came out of the destroyed room together. Damon agreed, "Come by my place when you're ready, it's an easy hike from there. I'll text you directions."

As they walked out of the building, Damon saw the huddled figures of Jeremy and Elena below them on the steps. He skipped down in front of them, meeting Elena's face.

She straightened up, "Is he dead?"

Buffy and Damon exchanged glances, then Buffy grimaced slightly, leaving them alone. She continued into the crowd until she found Spike.

Damon knelt in front of Elena, putting her head in his hands. "Yeah. Let me take you home." She slowly followed him, numb.

….

Elena woke the next morning in her bed with Damon sleeping on a chair beside it. Her heart leapt. She quietly moved out of bed and gathered some clothes for the day. _So here he was_, she thought, _staying by her for the night. Every other time he lost someone, he was destructive and vengeful. He looked at peace._ Elena hurried to the bathroom. She would never figure him out.

Damon heard the door open and close, then he opened his eyes to the now empty room. His phone had a text from Buffy for a time to meet. He rummaged for a piece of paper in Elena's room and found a picture of Stefan and Elena on her dresser. He looked at it for a few moments, then placed it face down. He ripped a page out of a school notebook and wrote:

_Don't be alone today. We don't know what Klaus will do now, and I have to run some errands._

He frowned. No use hiding it anymore.

_Love you. -D_

When Elena finished her morning routine, she found the note on her bed. A short laugh escaped her lips, then she bit away her tears. How many times in the last two years were filled with this kind of never-ending sorrow? Jeremy waited for her downstairs and they left for school together after a short breakfast.


	4. Into the Woods

_Damon leads a hike to Fell's Church / Finding the magic phrase_

Buffy rapped on the Salvatore's door, Spike leaning against the outer wall. "I don't see why you didn't kill this one too. A guy calls himself Damon, it's bad news right there."

Buffy grinned. "Like 'Spike' and 'William the Bloody' are sooo much better." Sometimes he let her call him William. But that was in rare moments of spilled over emotion. She preferred calling him Spike anyway - it was the name by which she first knew him as her nemesis.

"Hey!" he started, "at least I _earned_ those names. All Damons I've ever met are right little bastards."

The door swung open, and Damon stepped aside to let Buffy enter. His eyes lit up at her companion. "Hm." He winked knowingly, "Right little bastard at your service."

Spike screwed up his face, "Your hair's different now."

"So's yours," Damon looked around airily at the front lawn. "And the company you keep. What happened to the mad girl? Definitely a trade up."

An angry look crossed Spike's face, and Buffy chimed in. "So! Freaky that all vampires just seem to know each other. When did that happen?"

Damon dropped his guard at the doorway and let Spike pass through. "1930's-ish, in Spain." He gestured to the liquor, "Help yourself. We tore up the coast something fierce. The highlight was New Year's, no survivors in that little place, what was it called...?"

Spike fought back a smile at the memories and poured himself a drink to match Damon's. "La Fianna." The reunited vampires clinked their glasses together with grins that never touched their eyes. Happy to meet an old friend, but wary of their past lives.

"How about we don't remind the Slayer in the room about your murderous rampages?" Buffy found herself pouring a drink of her own. "Makes a girl's stake hand itchy." She brought her glass to meet theirs and toasted, "To not killing innocent people this time around, mkay?"

...

After a few more drinks, the trio embarked on their hike to the ruins. Buffy quickly steered the conversation. "One thing bothering me. So this ritual made a hybrid werewolf vampire, but it was supposed to have three victims? You only mentioned two had died. What happened to the third?"

Damon nodded, "The third was Elena. Her real dad sacrificed his life to protect her soul."

"Elena." Buffy considered. That girl had played a large part in Damon's story of Mystic Falls. And she had never heard of a doppelganger demon before. She asked Giles about it the previous night, but he had no off-hand information. "Can you introduce us next time? I'd like to talk with her."

Damon stopped walking. "No." He met the slayer's eyes with real concern. "You are a dangerous person. She needs less of that in her life. Her adopted parents, real parents, her aunt, a handful of friends, and now Stefan are all dead because of the company she keeps." Damon could more easily count the friends and family that were still alive than dead. He frowned, hoping that she stayed home safely today, rather than trying her luck at school.

"If you think I don't know about loss, you are so wrong." Buffy drew a breath, ready to launch into her own saga.

Spike interrupted, not wanting Buffy to recount too much to someone he did not yet trust. "Not getting anywhere by standing still, come on now."

...

They stood in front of the doorway at the ruins of the old Fell Church, a large rock etched with symbols. Damon explained, "The witch dispelled this area, so anyone who can open the door can come and go." Buffy and Spike shouldered the rock aside while Damon watched the couple. She really was as strong as a vampire, he decided. They made it look easy.

"I've never heard of this being referred to as a hellmouth. The only big thing here was a spell that trapped twenty-seven vampires for a hundred-some years." Damon shrugged, "So I hope you know what you're looking for."

Buffy stepped through the threshold, "Sometimes hellmouths can be created from places of intense suffering. Sometimes they lay dormant for thousands of years and become activated by the presence of evil. Sometimes witches or demons create a doorway through dimensions, and then they become permanent. There are lots of different kinds. From my intel, this one was a sleeper." She ducked under a beam, "It'd been a hellmouth for a long time, so the church was built over the site with wards to block it off."

Damon understood the colossal mistake his father and the other founders had been a part of and grimaced, "Then they burned the church down and left a bunch of angry vamps down here with it..."

The slayer continued, "And if the hybrid thing pans out, then I _really_ don't want Klaus to have access to other hell dimensions where he can spread his infection."

The three stood in the lowest portion of the crypt. Buffy shrugged. "Let's just start looking for anything that seems occulty." They split, checking the walls, makeshift cots, rocks, beams, and all of the rubble. Dust and dirt stirred in their wake, illuminating their flashlight beams. A long time passed as they searched the ruins for any sign of a hellmouth.

Damon turned his attention to Spike, looking in a place he had already searched thoroughly. "I already checked in that corner."

Letting out a sigh, Spike slumped onto a knee high boulder. "This is a dead end, love. Maybe Willow just felt the hybrid ritual happening, not a hellmouth opening." He leaned his back into the wall. Buffy swung her flashlight to point at Spike, and he jumped when the beam of light hit the ceiling. "Give me that."

She passed it along, and he pointed the beam to a small corner over him in the ceiling where a small phrase in Latin was etched. Damon began to sound it out before Buffy smacked him, "Don't do that!"

Damon didn't duck in time, "Ow! I'm not a witch, it wouldn't have done anything."

"Some words are powerful enough that they only need to be said," Buffy stared at the words. "I'm not prepared for that just yet. Anyone got a piece of paper?"

Damon search his pockets and came up with his cell phone. "I've got a camera."

"Oh yeah." Buffy fumbled for her own cell phone and took a picture. "Technology." She would have to figure out how to send a picture message later.

Spike stood, letting the flashlight find the passage out of the crypt. "Until you get in touch with Red, we're done here right?"

Buffy confirmed, and the trio exited to the afternoon sunlight. Spike smiled, still unused to the feeling of sudden warmth from the darkness, "I could get into this." Damon slowly eased the rock back to close the entrance.


	5. Forever

_The girls have a conversation / Elena and Damon by the fire / A consult with the expert witch / A kiss_

Buffy waited outside of the high school while students streamed out of the building. She spotted Elena and waved to get her attention. Elena retreated into her hair and Caroline hesitated, blocking Buffy's view of the girl. They stood there for a few minutes near the building, letting the crowd become a wall between Buffy and Elena. Elena used the time to text Damon.

Buffy just watched, not bothering to approach. Either the girl would come to her or not.

Damon's Camaro was parked in the front of the school's lot. He was napping with a hat draped over his face while he waited for the girls to get out of their classes. When his phone buzzed, he woke, startled to find out the time. He never slept past the grating noise of the busses leaving the grounds. Damon rubbed at the circles under his eyes and read the message from Elena.

Soon after, Buffy sensed a presence behind her. He had on leather soled shoes that squeaked slightly in the wet grass. "It doesn't work on me," she mentioned blithely, not even turning to look.

"Whatever do you mean?" Damon half-smiled lazily and stepped up to her side.

Buffy shook her head. "The little silent strider thing. I'd have to be seriously distracted to not notice someone coming up behind me." She looked at the girls again. "What are you doing here?"

"Protecting Elena from you. Seems you've scared her. I told you not to go near her." He walked across the yard to the girls, leaving Buffy behind.

...

Damon smiled as he approached Caroline and Elena. "I'm here to save the day. Let's go."

Elena refused, "Who is she?" She peeked around Caroline's shoulder, willing to take a look now that she had extra protection.

"Bad news," Damon responded. "In fact, she's the one who killed Stefan."

Caroline gasped, "I thought it was the bleached hair victim that did it."

"No," Damon mentally cursed. They had met Spike? "Spike works with her, so he 'inherited' Stefan's ring."

Elena put a hand to her forehead, assessing everything that she knew so far about Buffy and Spike. "What were your errands today?"

He looked up at nothing in particular and pursed his lips. "Grocery shopping, bills, the post office." Elena rolled her eyes while Damon smiled at her condescendingly.

"Well, I didn't like Spike. He outed me in front of everybody. Not that you guys didn't know." Caroline searched in her purse for something. "But it was rude. You can't just go up to someone and say 'Oh you're a vampire' just like that." Damon frowned.

Elena nodded. "Yeah it was weird. I thought that vampires couldn't detect each other."

"We can't," Damon confirmed, "He either made a good guess or has some help on that front." Elena started towards the slayer. He put up a hand to block her. "Oh no, you don't."

Buffy stood at the edge of the schoolyard watching their exchange, wishing she had super-hearing in her arsenal. Maybe Xander could set her up with spy gear. She was about to turn to leave when she saw Elena make a move in her direction. Buffy walked slowly towards the group.

"Oh, great." Damon saw her walking, "Now look what you've done."

Elena tilted her head, "Maybe she can tell me what you were up to today."

Damon let out an exasperated sigh. He had to give her credit for being able to connect the dots. "Fine. Have fun chatting." He ambled off to his car, annoyed.

"Um," Caroline had found her cell phone at the bottom of her purse. "It's Tyler, I'm supposed to help him out with the," she glanced at the slayer, "well, you know..." She smiled apologetically, "But I'll stay if you think she really is dangerous. I don't want to leave you alone like this."

"No," Elena gave her permission, "I'll be fine." Caroline rushed off, and Elena gripped her backpack straps in defense.

Buffy stopped a yard away from the girl. "I'm sorry." It did not sound like much of an apology for offing the girl's ex-boyfriend, but it was a start.

Elena relaxed, giving out a tired sigh. "It was probably for the best."

...

Elena had suggested that they go to The Grill to talk longer. She felt comfortable with more people around, and she might be able to order a drink if the servers were feeling generous. Buffy and Elena had scored a corner booth that allowed for mostly private conversation.

Buffy had looked at Elena with disapproval when she asked for a beer, but let it go for the moment. Elena was in the midst of her story of loss, which Buffy had heard so many times, from so many other girls, but this one resonated with her more. When Elena found no more words, Buffy chimed in, "A similar thing happened to me once. I had to kill the love of my life after he lost his soul. He was...Angel did some despicable things, and I needed to undo some of the damage. Plus, there was this portal thing with the end of the world..." Buffy's inner thoughts laughed at herself. Almost all of her stories ended with that phrase.

Elena took her seriously and commiserated, "That must have been terrible. You know, the worst thing about all this is that I think I couldn't have done it. Even though he'd proved again and again that he didn't care for me anymore. I think I would have hesitated to kill him." Her eyes met Buffy's, "Am I a bad person?"

A brunette waitress slid by their table, depositing drinks and chips, halting their conversation awkwardly. She left with the menus.

"No." Buffy bit her lip, "You would have done it in the end. To save your friends, your life, your sanity..." She set down the straw she had been playing with. "Sometimes you have to make the hard decisions for everyone else. A girl like you who was willing to sacrifice herself at one point? You would have done it."

Elena wiped back another tear for the thousandth time during this conversation, and tried to change the topic. "So, you're with Spike now? Even though you still love Angel?"

Buffy blushed. "Yeah. You know, it's different. I love him for very different reasons. He practically worships me, which is a great ego boost. But at the same time, he understands me more, and accepts all of the dark parts of me without holding back. Sometimes with Angel, I felt like I had to impress him." Buffy leaned closer to Elena. "You don't have to impress Damon either, I can see how much he loves you from a mile away. His eyes get all googly when he looks at you."

Elena shook her head vigorously, "It won't work. Every time I look at him, I see Stefan, my first love and his dead brother." She tapped her fingers on the table. "I never know if our friendship is going to last the hour, much less what a romance would."

"Sweetie, all vampires are related like one big incestuous family. If that were true, you wouldn't be able to look at Caroline without seeing Stefan's face." Buffy explained, "Angel was Spike's grandsire. Look at Damon as his own self. Let him sweep you off your feet."

Elena considered that. "It might take a while..."

"_They_ have forever," Buffy's eyes swept the room. "You don't."

Buffy hadn't meant for the conversation to take this turn into romance advice territory. The original plan was just to confirm Damon's story, but she felt at ease with the doppelganger. Elena was like Dawn, she thought. Young, swept up in a world where she didn't belong, and with great hair.

...

After Elena dropped Buffy off at the B&B, she didn't want to go home. Jeremy would be at Bonnie's, and Alaric working on grades. Home meant that she'd be alone. Even when Alaric and Jeremy were there, she felt alone. Elena turned the wheel towards a familiar destination.

Her car pulled up into the Salvatore's. She sat in the driveway, refusing to move. Eventually, she gripped the steering wheel and let out a good cry. She hadn't let herself do this for the longest time, biting back the tears or stopping herself before the emotions took over her whole body.

Stefan, whether he could have been saved or not, was gone now. He would never come back. Buffy was wrong, she thought, all she would be able to see was Stefan's house, Stefan's brother, it was always Stefan. After a few more body-shaking cries, she forced it together. Stefan the soulless, murderous, killer, she told herself. The one that was Klaus's soldier and nothing more. After her tears subsided, she forced her legs to take her inside the manse. Damon sat on the couch in front of the fire with several empty bottles beside him.

Damon slowly turned his head to face her tear-stained eyes and offered a tight smile. She stood in front of him, blocking the light from the crackling logs of the fire. "Damon," she whispered, affirming his name to herself. "You're drunk."

"Elena," Damon's eyes widened sarcastically, "You're sad."

She knelt down to bring their faces closer. It was Damon who had been there for her, protecting her to the end. Damon who understood who she really was, even when she pulled away from him the most. After a few moments of silence, Damon pulled her close to him, and they held each other.

They had already lost Stefan to his ripper. But today they lost something even more dear to them - the hope, however faint, that he would come back.

…

[pix message of phrase]

Buffy We found this in the church crypt, no open hellmouth. Any ideas?

Willow It's def an "open sesame" phrase. What happened last month to trigger its appearance?

Buffy A ritual making a vamp/werewolf hybrid. Haven't met him yet.

Buffy Any way to make it go away?

Willow That's serious stuff. Any more rituals like that and the door might open on its own.

Buffy Well, there've been some other crazy big spells in the area too...

Buffy's phone rang, and when she picked it up, an anxious Willow queried her immediately. "Like what, Buffy?"

Buffy struggled to recall all of them from the story that Damon had told her, "Well, first the church burned down in the 1860's, so the wards broke. The crypt was used to hold twenty-seven vampires for 150ish years. Then some witches broke the spell holding them in. Then created another one to seal them back in. Then out again. Some kid was brought back to life at a nearby site. A witch burned through a bunch of power trying to kill the hybrid, drawing on the power of hundreds of dead witches."

"Wow," Willow paused. "That sucker should be wide open by now. Are you sure you didn't see any other protective wards or runes keeping it down?"

"Um...we did have to open a rock door to get down there, and that had some symbols on it." Buffy mentally kicked herself. "I didn't get a picture of it though. I'm sorry, that should have been the first thing I thought of."

"I have a good idea what kind of wards would be needed for that. Send me a picture anyway, in case I'm wrong, the next time you check it out." Willow sighed. "And see if you can get the local witch that was wreaking havoc to start prep work and getting the ingredients for two spells called 'The Hand of Fate' and 'Merlin's Path Blocker.' In that order. Once I get a confirm on those door runes, have her cast them and the hellmouth will be totally sealed."

Buffy scribbled down some notes. "You're a life-saver, Will."

"You should call Xander. Have him set some girls on back-up. Even if the hellmouth spell goes without a hitch, the hybrid may take more work than just the two of you."

"We'll be fine." Buffy waited. "Why didn't you make daylight rings for Angel or Spike?"

"Because I don't know how - are there daylight rings in Mystic Falls? If you can get me one, I could figure out how they were made." Willow sounded excited.

"Yeah, well, I gave one to Spike already. I doubt he'll give it up except at night. Apparently the local witch knows how to make them."

"Buffy!"

"What?"

"Your witch has to have Emily Bennett's grimoire! Wiccans thought that it was destroyed in the church fire! This is huge!"

Buffy tried to match Willow's volume, "Why is this huge?!"

"She invented half the spells in the modern witch's spellbook, created a ton of really cool amulets, and found ways to make magic do impossible things. She was...a thaumaturgical genius!"

Buffy was taken aback, "I thought magic spells were discovered, not invented. Cool."

"If you get me a copy of that grimoire, I will love you forever and ever. I'm so jealous right now."

Buffy laughed, "Okay, Will, I'll see what I can do. Thanks for the info, I'll send a pic of the runes when I go there next."

...

After a few moments, Elena turned her body to face Damon. "I love you, too."

Damon frowned. "Where is this coming from?"

"It's the truth," Elena retorted. "It's how I feel. I don't have to explain myself."

Damon moved himself upright. "Maybe it is, but your timing seems a little off. Why feel this way now?" Paranoid, his eyes searched for any sign that this was Katherine.

Elena pulled away from his side. "Maybe Stefan's death was a sign to me that I need to stop wasting time lying to myself and everybody else about how I feel." Elena put her head in her hands. "But I don't think I can take your rejection, so forget it. Pretend I didn't say anything about it."

Damon immediately sobered, blood circulating quickly through his veins. "I could never refuse you, Elena." He looked directly into her eyes, "I'm not too proud to be second place, but I'll take it."

"No," She shook her head, trying to push the thought away, "No, it's not like that. I've always felt connected to you. I'm not even sure why sometimes, but I feel like you get me. When I'm frustrated, happy, angry, or...sad," she wiped at her eyes again, but they were dry, "I end up here, with you."

He regretted having to push Stefan back into the conversation. Damon was grieving too, and the only thoughts rising to the surface connected to his brother. "You said that it would always be him."

"Yeah, well, he's dead," Elena pushed herself away from Damon, affording him a look at her hunched shoulders on the sleight form. "And he has been for a while. Maybe I was afraid to admit this out loud, but for the past few months, I haven't been able to look at his face without seeing blood. The last thing he said to me was a threat to turn Matt into a vampire. I can't love someone like that."

"I said it would always be him," she continued, "because I thought I knew who he was."

Damon let an extended silence stretch between the two of them. The house gave one of its phantoms creaks before he responded. "Everything you felt for him, that was never a lie. You love deeply and generously, and I am extraordinarily happy to be the recipient of your love." He enclosed one of her hands with his. "Would you let me take you out someplace?"

"Right now?" Elena's mind struggled to switch topics, but she squeezed his hand. "I'm not really dressed up, or in the mood."

He smiled widely, "I meant we should start dating. But if you like, we can skip ahead to the part where we're an old married couple. I'm very good at bickering, golf, and getting young'uns off the lawn."

Elena laughed, her eyes twinkling with life again.

A chime rang out, and Damon fished the phone out of his pocket. Elena saw Buffy's name on the screen. She plucked it out of his hands. "You have her to thank for my confession, you know." Before Damon could react, Elena opened the phone and answered, "Damon's phone."

Buffy laughed, "Hey there, chica. Everything okay?"

Damon swiped the phone back from Elena and greeted Buffy next. "You're interrupting."

"You owe me a favor." Buffy reconsidered, thinking on the cheerfulness in Elena's voice. "Several favors."

"Mmm, I'll bite." Damon put his arms around Elena's slender waist.

The slayer raised her eyebrows at his phrasing, "I need for you to introduce me to Bonnie."

Damon purred, "You're very demanding, sweetheart. I'll arrange a dinner date at the Gilbert's in an hour. Let's make it a triple. Bring Spike." He tossed the phone to a nearby table and leaned in to kiss Elena.


	6. The Triple Date

_Dinner at the Gilbert home / A Spell List for the Hellmouth / Family relations_

"Uh-uh-uh," Spike stopped Buffy before they reached the entrance. "Just cause Damon and I used to be chums does not mean I like working with him now. I don't trust him."

Buffy dismissed him, "If I had to make a list of all the men that you don't trust, it'd reach all the way back to Sunnydale." She still hadn't told Spike about her big fight with Damon, she mused. He probably wouldn't let them near each other if he knew.

"That's not true," he sputtered, "I trust plenty of people."

She raised her eyebrows disbelievingly. "Name one. And no nominating yourself."

"Uhm," Spike shouldered his jacket, "Xander. Sometimes."

Buffy looped her arm inside his and guided them to the door. "Warning appreciated. But so not needed."

"Right." He sucked in his cheeks, "So long as you know."

...

Elena answered Buffy's knocking. "Hi!" She paused for a moment. "I'm trying to be more careful about this. Buffy and Spike, you may enter."

Buffy shrugged, "Officially, I don't need the invite, he does. But thanks for having us." They shed their fall jackets and entered the kitchen, where Jeremy and Bonnie were chopping vegetables. "Why are you trying to be so careful?"

Elena crossed her arms. "A lot of unwanted vampires have a standing invitation here. Even Klaus does."

"What? How could you leave them with an all-access pass?" Buffy gasped.

Elena's eyebrows furrow. "It's not like you can uninvite a vampire."

"Oh yes, you can." Buffy began to search the spice rack and addressed the other girl in the kitchen. "Are you Bonnie?"

The girl looked at Elena, then affirmed, "Yep. You're really the vampire slayer?"

"A vampire slayer," Buffy corrected. "I need you to stop chopping and help me with a revoking ritual. It'll be done by dinner, and it leaves the house smelling like potpourri. Thanks to this guy," she points a thumb at Spike, "I've got it memorized."

"You're welcome," Spike lumbered to the cutting board and glanced at the open recipe book. "I'll take over from here. Ooh, chicken parm."

...

An hour later, Elena, Spike, and Jeremy finished setting the table with the dinner dishes. Buffy had taught Bonnie the words to the ritual and they had put together a smudge stick that they used at every window and door. A knocking announced Damon's arrival.

Elena breathed out. "Come on Jeremy, let's go get him."

Jeremy followed his sister to the front door, and they opened it together.

"You're late," Elena remarked. She backed up to allow him space to move inside. He wasn't able to make it past the threshold, his shoes kicking against the suddenly solid air.

Damon looked at her sideways, "What have you done?"

"There's a revoking ritual on the house. I just wanted to make sure it worked."

Jeremy interrupted, "It worked on Spike. We had to let him out and in."

"You invited him in without me?"

"Yeah. Weren't you going to?"

"That's not the point."

Damon interjected by holding up a tray. "I've got pie. Can I come in yet?"

Elena and Jeremy nodded together sharing a look of approval, and then Elena spoke, "Damon Salvatore, we welcome you into our home." Damon stepped through easily.

...

Buffy attacked her meal, aware of the growing silence at the table. In an effort to make conversation, she smiled at Jeremy, "You know the food's great when everyone digs in like this. Thanks for the meal."

He nodded in response, stumbling over his words. "Yeah, this is actually a, a family recipe." His eyes found Elena. "Mom taught it to me." Elena looked at him, surprised.

"Your mom would be proud, this tastes great." Buffy paused, and then the silence grew even more uncomfortable as everyone reflected on their absent families.

Damon frowned. Though he didn't want to leave the table in case they started talking about interesting things, he would need to for any of it to happen. Despite Elena's realization of love, no one else would be comfortable with him for a while. He turned to Spike, "I've brought a bottle of wine for us, maybe we could retire to a different room?"

Understanding that he meant blood wine, Spike muttered, "Oh thank god." His fork dropped to the place setting. He squeezed Buffy's shoulder, "I'll be with Damon for a bit, love." Buffy nodded her permission absently.

Jeremy, Elena, and Bonnie watched as the two exited the room. Jeremy spoke up first. "That was weird."

Buffy glanced at the door which they went through and noticed nothing unusual. "Splain."

"Well, why didn't he offer to share? Was it a special vamp..." Realization dawned on all three of their faces. "He should have just _said_ blood. It's not like we don't know."

Buffy grinned, "Leave it to vampires to complicate things with code words." She shrugged, "He's trying to be nice to our human sensibilities."

Jeremy considered, "Maybe it's weird because he's never tried to be nice before."

Elena bit her lip. "That would be my fault." Everyone's gaze met hers. "We're trying to give it a shot."

"Oh no," Bonnie's voice wavered. "You're not serious."

"Am so," Elena countered. "We're taking it slow, because we've both lost Stefan. But it seemed inappropriate not to be honest with each other after everything. So, we're going to try...dating."

"I don't think it's a good idea." Bonnie lowered her voice. "He tried to kill Jeremy."

Jeremy added in a whisper, "I agree. I think he truly loves you, but I don't think he's good for you, or for the rest of us. He's not stable."

Elena reacted with a stunned silence. Everything they said was true.

"If he's bad for her, she'll dump him. Give them a chance," Buffy pitched in. When they appeared unconvinced, she moved closer. "Spike and I spent the better part of five years trying to kill each other before we finally hooked up. When you're forging a relationship based on honesty, trust, and mutual love for each other, then everything can be forgiven. Hate and love are easily mistaken for the other." Elena looked hopeful at these words.

Buffy continued, "We all live like this. Not sure if we'll see another day, fighting against huge odds. Damon actually caught me up on your recent adventures. And you know what, he had nothing but respect for all of you and everything you've done. And there is so much more to come. Be supportive of Elena and help her get out if he is bad for her. But you gotta give them a chance first." Her hand tightened around a glass.

Bonnie and Jeremy considered this. Jeremy gritted his teeth. "Fine. But I'm watching him closely."

Elena reached her hand to meet Jeremy's, "Thank you."

Bonnie nodded in support, then turned to Buffy. "Since we're being so open, what exactly are you doing in Mystic Falls?"

She smiled apologetically. "Needing your help, actually. I'd have to check my notes for specifics, but I need some spells cast in order to seal up the hellmouth under Fell's Church for good. Once that's settled, then I'm going to track down the hybrid."

Jeremy tapped his knife against his plate. "I've read about hellmouths. But John never mentioned that there was one under the church."

"John?" Buffy stood up to clear her plate. Everyone else followed her lead.

"He was my-our ancestor, from the 1800's. He kept detailed journals that I've been reading."

Buffy understood. "If he knew about the hellmouth under the church, then he wouldn't have helped burn it down. The church had an extensive series of wards on it. Now the only ones left are on the rock door entrance, and they're breaking because a lot of magic's been thrown around lately." Bonnie's plate clattered into the sink. "It's not your fault," Buffy assured her, "you did what you had to. But I do need you to set it right."

Bonnie picked up her dishes and did a quick rinse on them while she responded evenly. "Sure thing. You said there were a couple of spells that you needed?" She dried off her hands then walked with Buffy to the living room, where they sat on a couch together.

Buffy pulled out her purse, looking for the notes she made. "Yeah, these two spells cast in order will seal the hellmouth for good. By the way, my friend is super jealous that you have Emily Bennett's grimoire." She fished out the piece of paper.

Bonnie's eyes narrowed. "How would you know I have it?"

Buffy shrugged, "Apparently the kind of spells you cast and those rings are her style, but the witching world thought the book was destroyed in the fire."

Bonnie was shocked at the amount of knowledge someone could learn from just a handful of casted spells. "Witching world?"

"A bunch of witches around the world. Willow's the big player in that area. In fact," Buffy scribbled Willow's phone number at the bottom of the paper. "here's her number in case you have questions on those spells or witches in general. I'm not going to be a whole lot of help in that field."

"So why isn't your friend here with you?" Bonnie asked.

Buffy sank back into the couch. "Willow has a more pressing engagement at the moment. But she can talk on the phone a bunch. She basically just has to be there."

Elena and Jeremy had finished up in the kitchen and walked in to join them. Jeremy sat next to Bonnie, "Who has to be where?"

Buffy answered cagily, "A friend of mine couldn't be here. So do you guys have any board games or movies?" Willow wasn't even supposed to tell Buffy her current location. Of course she had.

Elena turned to open a cabinet. "Yeah, there's, um, Monopoly?" She brought out the box and set it on the coffee table. Buffy immediately gasped. Elena furrowed her eyebrows, "What?"

On the box was written _Property of Jenna Summers_ in sharpie. She traced the line of words with her finger, "Who is this...?"

Jeremy volunteered first, "She was our Aunt. She took care of us after the accident, but she died last month."

"In the sacrifice?" Elena's nod confirmed Buffy's question. Buffy stood up and took a deep breath. "I'll be back, I need to think about this." She reassured the concerned Gilberts, "I'll tell you everything. I just...need a moment." Her retreating footsteps took her up the stairs to the room where Spike and Damon had retired.

...

Spike and Damon were in Elena's room, had just cracked open their third bottle of blood wine, and were starting to get into the really good memories when Buffy opened the door. "So..." she directed at Damon, "When were you going to tell me Jenna's last name?"

Damon twitched, "She _is_ related?"

"I don't know," Buffy responded, annoyed. "Probably. There're no coincidences in my life."

Spike glanced around the walls of the room and pulled down a photo mosaic. "Which one was she?" he asked Damon.

Buffy leaned over to look instead, and pointed. "That was her. And there too." Jenna had a bright smile, golden hair, and dark eyes like Buffy's. A nod from Damon confirmed. "Oh, god," she sat down, head in her hands.

Spike held the frame awkwardly, then sat next to her, hand across her shoulders. "Was she Joyce's sister?"

"No," Buffy replied, "She was a Summers. She was my aunt from my dad's side. So I guess I'm...Jeremy's cousin?" She sighed. "I never paid attention to Hank's family after the divorce. Shows what I know."

Damon stood up, "You're technically Elena's cousin too. Not blood related, I think." He shot her a glance, then walked out of the room.

Spike tried to reassure her, "They're good kids to have as family. And they already know about the slayer thing, so that's one awkward conversation down."

Buffy leaned into Spike deeper. "I don't have time for family. I barely have time for us. I'm not allowed to lead a normal life because I'm the general of an army. I've come to terms with this. You know, I considered_ this_ a vacation, and _this_ was going out to close a hellmouth."

"For some people, family means sending out Christmas cards," Spike rubbed her arm. "It doesn't have to be more complicated than that." He stopped her protest. "It really doesn't. Treat this as the family portion of your vacation. It'll be great fun to have cousins, but they don't have to sign up for the army or meet the watchers, witches, and demons."

...

When Buffy left, Bonnie pulled Jeremy and Elena closer. "I don't trust her. She knows too much about everything in our lives."

Elena was skeptical, "That's because Damon told her everything after the Founder's Meeting. And I spoke with her for a bit at The Grill so that's why she knows more about my friends."

Bonnie remained unconvinced. "She knew that I was related to Emily Bennett, which would be trivial for Damon to mention. Spike has some weird ability to detect vampires. She's, for whatever reason, a huge supporter of Damon's involvement in your life despite being a so-called vampire slayer. She's not a witch, but has access to some rituals that I haven't seen in any of the spellbooks I've looked in. And she obviously knows Jenna somehow. Her first target was Stefan so she could steal his ring for Spike. It's not a pretty picture."

Elena hesitated. "Those things could be explained if we take her at face value. But you're right, we should be cautious. She could be here to get information or distract us."

"Maybe you should research these spells she asked you about. See if they're legit," Jeremy suggested. "And I'll try to look in on her background, while you," he points to Elena, "continue being her friend. Make sure there aren't any incnsistencies." He heard footsteps from the stairs, and guiltily pulled the box lid, "I call the iron."  
>Damon jabbed two fingers at the Gilbert siblings. "Where's Alaric? He needs to hear this too."<p>

"Probably grading. He never said he had any plans." Elena rose, concerned. "What does he need to hear?"

Damon rolled his eyes and pulled his phone from his back pocket. "You'll find out when I tell you." Headlights flashed through the front windows signifying the teacher's arrival, and Damon put the phone away with a rueful smile. "Convenience."

...

Alaric entered the house with a downcast head to Damon, Elena, Jeremy, and Bonnie watching him closely. He reacted, flustered, "What did I do?"

"Come on, sit down," Damon urged. "I've got big news. It's a _family_ matter."

Bonnie glared, "I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm not talking to you, Sabrina." Damon allowed everyone to seat themselves around the table and launched into it. "Buffy is still upstairs with Spike at the moment. The big news is that she is Jeremy's cousin, and Elena's, though I don't think the two of you are blood relatives."

"What?" Jeremy and Elena reacted in unison.

Elena pulled her hair back. "That's impossible. We know everyone in the family, and she's not in it. Our family tree was updated just a few years ago."

"Well, she could tell you the details, but she is Joyce and Hank Summers' daughter from a divorce." Damon explained what he knew.

"No," Elena rejected, getting up from her seat and pulling a photo album from the shelves. "Uncle Hank had a son from one of his marriages, there was no one else." She opened the cover, where a piece of folded paper fell out. She flattened it out and concentrated on the bottom portion. "He was married three times, first to Joyce, then Frida, with whom he had Lucas, and now to Martha. No one with Joyce."

Damon leveled her with a glance. "Fine. I'd give twice divorced 'Uncle Hank' a call before trusting that piece of paper. It'll still be daytime in California."

Elena left the room to search for the phone book in the kitchen. Alaric scrubbed at his head. "This is great to be able to welcome new family into your life, isn't it?" he asked Jeremy, who was still stunned.

Buffy came down the stairs and heard Alaric. "Thanks for breaking the big news, Damon," she commented with a small hint of bitterness, hoping that she would have been the one to share it with them.

Buffy sat at the table next to Jeremy and touched his hand briefly. "Aunt Jenna lived with us for a summer when I was a kid. She was starting college nearby and didn't want to go home." Buffy smiled faintly, remembering her carefree childhood. "Dawnie and I got a free pass to swim at the pool she lifeguarded for."

Jeremy looked concerned, "Dawnie?"

"My little sister," Buffy explained. "Another cousin of yours, I guess. She's at school in England right now for linguistics." Her eyes fell on Elena, who was talking angrily on the phone. "What's going on?"

Jeremy glanced at Elena with worry. "She's talking to Uncle Hank."

"To Dad?" Buffy sighed. "This is way too fast."

Elena slammed the phone down into its holder and approached the group. "He finally admitted it. You're our cousin."

"Can't say I blame him for not mentioning us," Buffy's tight smile helped harden her heart against him. "He hated me."


	7. Research

_Witches talk about Spell Books / Elena Hikes to Fell's Church and learns Slayer history_

Bonnie stood in front of her freshly augmented collection of spellbooks from the Martin stash and willed forth one that would contain the spell known as The Hand of Fate. One book shuddered and tentatively fell to the ground. After thumbing through a couple of pages, she found the spell. The mechanics seemed simple, but she wondered why anyone would want to weaken an area's magical force right before performing an even bigger spell.

Leaving the book open, she brought her mental focus on Merlin's Path Blocker, and half of the books on the shelf immediately collapsed to the floor. She frowned to herself and picked one at random. This time, she had to read through various spell directions carefully to find a mention of it. Nestled in another entry about gathering forth energy for more strength, she found a warning:

_If an area is nulled, as through Merlin's Path Blocker, when you enter the area, this spell will dissipate, and you will be left with no magical recourse._

She fished for another book, and after careful perusal found another short passage that referenced it:

_Always keep an eye on your ley-lines. Though null-magic areas are extraordinarily rare, you do not want to fly over over a place cursed with Merlin's Path Blocker and plummet._

Bonnie sighed with frustration and picked up another book. The spell still did not merit its own entry, instead found within the description of another spell:

_Do not attempt to cast into an area that has been blocked by Merlin's Path Blocker. The backlash is lethal._

Every book piled in front of her was the same. The spell-casting was never described, only snippets of its devastating effects. Bonnie wasn't sure she even wanted to cast it, but her curiosity was growing. She snatched at the piece of paper with Buffy's friend's phone number on it and dialed.

…

Willow was standing on something that could only be described as a yoga ball, stretching her left leg out. The wobble as she changed positions was very slight, and the phone ring didn't send a tremor to it either. She grinned in triumph, then reached for the phone carefully. "Willow Rosenberg, witch extraordinaire!" she announced, keeping her left leg extended.

Bonnie paused for just a moment, slightly stunned by Willow's exuberance. "Uh, Bonnie Bennett, confused witch."

"Bennett," Willow confirmed, "As in Emily Bennett, so you must have encountered my favorite slayer." Willow felt confident in her detective skills. "Right?"

"Buffy. Yeah." Bonnie charged ahead, not wanting to discuss her ancestor at the moment. "I haven't been able to find a full entry of the Merlin's Path Blocker spell you recommended, only references to it."

"Oh, duh. Whoa!" Willow temporarily unbalanced, legs oscillating back and forth. After a recovery with both feet planted in the ball, she continued. "That was exciting. You wouldn't have any because they were all destroyed in 1672. If I was thinking, I would have thought of that."

"I...guess so?" Bonnie groaned to herself, hoping that this witch would make sense. "Why were they destroyed?"

Willow explained, "Well, if you were a witch, you wouldn't want to keep spells like that around. It creates an area of no magic, which can be quite dangerous to witches, especially if we're not expecting them. So witches all agreed to rip it out, tear it up, and burn the pages. As far as I know, there are no surviving books that describe the ritual."

"So what do I do instead?"

Willow considered the dilemma, then decided that the risk of telling someone new was worth the end of a hellmouth. "I'll tell you how to do it."

Bonnie double-taked, "Wait, how old are you?"

"Twenty-eight." Willow bit her lip. "But I've got some older friends." Her eyes settled on her mentor, who was encouraging Willow to raise her leg again. She began to explain the ritual, "Listen carefully and don't ever commit this to paper..."

…

Jeremy couldn't find anything about Buffy on the internet. He leaned back in frustration. Not even a facebook page. His eyes danced around the room to alleviate his slight headache from staring at the computer screen too long. They landed on a picture of Aunt Jenna. He hadn't let himself think about her ever since the funeral.

Buffy did look a lot like her, he thought. Same dirty blond hair and tough attitude. Jeremy considered their likeness fondly. Alaric was right, he decided. Better to welcome new family into his life than feel alone.

Jeremy gave up searching for Buffy, but entered in Joyce's name. Bing delivered a result about an art gallery. The site was obviously years old, with scrolling text lining the top of the site. Joyce Summers had curated an art gallery in Sunnydale, California. He recognized the place, but couldn't remember why.

Another search revealed that Sunnydale was the site of the meteor crash several years ago. The entire town was a crater, and research teams still hadn't been able to get samples of the rock that decimated the town. He remembered hearing about it on the news. It was a freak accident, many astronomers had said. No meteor large enough to create that kind of damage had been spotted in the sky previously, nor were there any satellite images of the crash itself, just the results. And yet, everyone in the town had already evacuated a few days prior for some unknown reason. There were few casualties.

Jeremy folded his arms in thought, then called Bonnie. He didn't think she was being overly cautious anymore.

…

Stefan's phone went straight to voice-mail. Klaus growled in frustration. The boy hadn't called to check in yesterday. He had very specific instructions for Stefan that were to take place every day. Klaus then rang for his sister.

Rebecca answered in her lilt, "I'm not talking to you."

"Talk to Stefan," he demanded, blue eyes flashing in the light speckled under the leaves. "Tell him he has another day or I come back to personally find out why he's being delinquent."

Rebecca smirked with satisfaction. "Anything for you," then flipped the phone shut. She hadn't seen Stefan in school, but she bet that Elena would know.

...

The next day, Elena had jumped at the chance to go to the old Fell's Church with Buffy. She managed to coax Boffy into talking about her family, and Buffy had just finished talking about the divorce.

"I burned down the school gym," Buffy explained, "so he's hated me ever since. Mom took us to Sunnydale and that was the end of our relationship with him. Mostly."

Elena continued pushing, "What about Dawn? What's she like?"

"Well, she's very smart. Like I already told Jeremy, she's in England right now for linguistics. Latin, of course, Ancient Sumerian, a couple of demonic ones." Buffy back-tracked. "She's learning those because she wants to be a watcher. Despite my best efforts, she's as deep in all this stuff as I am."

"Actually," Elena pursed her lips, "I never got an explanation on what slayers, watchers, and hellmouths are. Everyone else seems to know, and I guess they assume I know."

Buffy grimaced. "The long explanation or the short one?"

Elena looked at the path still ahead of them. "The long one."

"Oh boy," Buffy sighed. "We'll start with the easy one. Hellmouths are gateways into hell dimensions. Vamps, demons, evil gods, all sorts of things come out of them. The one up here isn't open yet," she reassured Elena, "but I'm here to make sure it doesn't ever open."

"Slayers, like myself, are super strong, fast, and tough. There used to be only one born into every generation, but I changed that a few years back. Have you seen the commercials?"

Elena shook her head.

Buffy shrugged, "They were Andrew's idea. But anyway, now there's a lot of us and I'm the leader of an army of slayers. I'm on 'vacation' right now with Spike, that's why I'm sans troops. Plus, a lot of them are working on a mission that Faith and Xander can handle."  
>Buffy mistook Elena's confusion at the new names being thrown around as confusion of Faith's mission. "They're routing a Glexenial Demon out of China."<p>

She forged ahead. "Watchers are the people who watch over slayers and help train, inform, and guide slayers. It used to be a cushy job cause there were only one of us and a bunch of them. But they were corrupt and a bunch of them were offed by the First. So now there's a handful of them and a ton of us."

"Wait up," Elena waved her hands, "How is all this even possible to hide? An army of super-soldiers fighting demons around the world?"

Buffy nodded, "Go figure." She continued, "I suspect that it's not possible. It was probably easier when there was just one slayer. This world's very resistant to the whole demon thing, but I think it'll be a matter of time before the government and media stop censoring it. And then I'll be in a world of trouble. But that's in my future, so I'd _really_ rather not add that to my worries right now."

Elena let this knowledge wash over her. Buffy was far tougher than she had let on before. "Why are Spike and Damon alive?"

Buffy leveled Elena with a glance. "Not every demon, vamp, and monster that goes bump is out for power or killing. In this fight, I have to take all the allies I can get. Spike and Damon have somehow retained their soul, and we have to encourage that. You know this."

Buffy swatted a branch out of her path and felt dumb for answering the wrong question. Elena was actually asking why Stefan had to die. "Stefan was a vampire in the true sense of the word. He might have had his humanity once, but I've been trained to see behind the mask of killers. No one in that school was safe with him."

The ruins of Fell's Church lay ahead of them. They could see Rebecca standing in front of the rock door. Elena stopped and warned Buffy, "That's Klaus's sister."

Buffy trudged onward. "No point in delaying a meet-up that she wants to have."


	8. Rebecca

_A meeting with Rebecca / Violence at Fell's Church / Where's Elena? / More violence at Fell's Church_

Rebecca stood at the entrance to the tomb, arms folded in a warning to any who would approach. Buffy tugged her jacket close at the fall air and secretly placed a hand around her stake that she kept in the inside pocket. Buffy and Elena stopped at the edge of the small clearing and waited.

Rebecca chose to make the gap between them shorter, swaying closer to the two girls. Addressing Elena, she asked, "You didn't bring Stefan with you?"

Buffy wrinkled her nose, remembering Rebecca from her dreams too. She featured multiple times. "You're way out of the loop. He's dead."

Bringing her full attention to Buffy, Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? That's not possible." Her musical voice filled the courtyard with disbelief.

"No," Buffy's scoffed, "It's possible. I was there."

Elena waved her hands to get their attention. "Wait, _why_, exactly, is it impossible for Stefan to be dead?" She shut down the part of her mind that lit up at the faint hope.

Rebecca paused, enjoying the moment of power she held over their confusion and then turned away. "If you continue lying to me, and you won't tell me where he is, then I'll begin searching in earnest, destroying everything and everyone that stands in my way. And then if I can't find him, Klaus will return and destroy everything else."

"I don't think so," Buffy retorted. "I'm not letting you get away again."

"Again?" Rebecca spun to face Buffy and appraised the slayer slowly, then dismissed her. "I've never seen you before."

"Yeah, well I have." Her hand no longer hid the stake, "In a church, there were candles burned down to pools of wax and I got there too late; the priest lay dead on the altar. Then, I found you in a park where a dog was barking. You were sucking down his owner when I grabbed you and we fought. You killed me. There was...," Buffy remembered in more detail, advancing on Rebecca, "there was that woman in a courtroom, wearing a small crown and a new set of fangs. I saw you turn her, and I chopped off her head. Then we clashed, and you fled with someone else." Buffy took another step forward. "I'm getting better every time we fight."

Elena stumbled back away from the pair, too shocked to interfere.

Rebecca struggled to recall each event, but kept a small smile at her lips. "Those were all different girls."  
>"You don't know how wrong you are," Buffy's face held serious eyes that bore into Rebecca's, "And that's my advantage. I know every move you'll make in a fight. Stefan is dead, and I know he's dead because I personally killed him. Like I'll kill you."<p>

"It's not true!" Rebecca yelled, pushing at Buffy.

Buffy brought a knee up to her stomach and brought Rebecca to the ground. Elena gasped, watching them fight. Their movements were graceful and so quick, she could barely follow the action. Rebecca had a huge amount of raw strength and speed at her disposal. But Buffy was right about her advantage. Rebecca barely touched Buffy, and the slayer was getting in some good hits. She eventually saw splatters of blood on the ground and knew it was Rebecca's.

But for all she fought well, Elena knew Buffy couldn't kill the girl. She didn't have the right weapon. Eventually, Buffy would tire and make mistakes. Keeping an eye firmly trained on the warring women, Elena texted Damon.

_i'm tomb, b and rebec fight. help._

Mesmerized by the combat, Elena kept backing away from them. But she could never bring herself to look away. In just a few minutes, Spike was at her side. He nudged Elena, "Your boy's coming, he just had to stop and look for a special dagger."

Elena breathed and let herself shiver. "Good."

"Cold?" Spike assessed the fight. "Buff's winning, I don't see why the cavalry had to come running." He shrugged off his trenchcoat and set it on Elena's shoulders with a smirk. "But I never pass up an invite." He ran ahead and joined Buffy.

"Oh my god," Elena put a hand out to a nearby tree to steady herself. Spike and Buffy were too impulsive, too powerful, and too much for her. But they worked well together. In just a few moments, Rebecca fell limp and they immediately set to work tying her down.

"Thanks for the assist," Buffy breathed hard.

Spike laughed. "The way you were fighting, you didn't need it. What did she do to you?"

Elena ran up as soon as Rebecca was secured. "What was all that you were saying to her before?"

"Ancestral memories," Buffy deflected. "I need to sit down."

Elena gave back Spike's trenchcoat and he laid it out on the ground. Buffy carefully sat on it, wincing at her leg. "She got a good one on me."

A rush of air announced Damon's arrival. "Sorry I'm late. You wouldn't believe where Stefan hid this thing." He brandished the dagger dipped in ash. He placed it in Elena's hands.

"No killing her yet," Buffy warned. "Rebecca really believed Stefan wasn't dead. We have to know why."

"Yeah," Elena tucked the dagger away. "She kept insisting that it wasn't possible."

Spike settled next to Buffy, throwing an arm over her. "Then we wait for her to wake up."

…

Bonnie had gone to the Gilbert's house after school to meet up with Jeremy. They needed to come up with a plan. "The spells work," she explained to him, "by weakening the area's natural magic and then banishing any magic from being performed in or on it. So the idea is that the hellmouth won't open because there will be no power to operate it. Buffy's friend was right, this is a way to stop a hellmouth from opening."

Jeremy leaned forward, noticing Bonnie's frown. "But you don't like it."

"If I mess up anything, it will take my powers with it. All original copies of this spell were destroyed, so I'm going off of someone else's word that it works. And...she didn't sound too good." Bonnie sighed. "If it does work, then we'll have closed a hellmouth that we don't even know for sure exists for someone who blew up their town on the first go."

Bonnie shook her head. "And that's if I believe that Buffy is who she says she is. I still don't trust her."

The front door swung open as Alaric walked through with a stack of messy papers. "Oh, hey guys," he said happily as he noticed Bonnie and Jeremy in the kitchen. "Come on over, we've got a breakthrough."

The couple exchanged a glance and went to the table where he scattered a set of photographs around the table. When assembled, it formed a wall of cave paintings littered with symbols. "We found this in the woods, I think it tells the story of the originals."

"'We' doesn't include Buffy, does it?" Bonnie grimaced.

Alaric shook his head, staring at the pictures and beginning to label some of them. "No, it was Damon and Spike. But I got the tip from someone else."

Jeremy pointed to a picture, "That one looks like Elena's necklace. The one that's supposed to be the original witch's." He tilted his head, thinking on his sister's location. "I thought Elena was with Damon."

"They are now. Damon and Spike left suddenly to help her out with something at Fell's Church." Alaric looked at the students with a sigh. "You're surprised at this because you think Elena's in danger." He picked up his keys. "Come on, I don't see why you even leave her out of your sight." They rushed out to the car.

…

Damon slapped Rebecca lightly across the face, impatient for her to wake. "The internal bleeding must have stopped by now. Wake up."

Rebecca moaned and then struggled against her bindings, but they were wrapped too tight for her to get any leverage to break free.

Buffy stood up and stretched her leg, which was feeling much better for the rest. She loomed over Rebecca and twirled her stake. "Why do you think Stefan's alive?"

With a few more struggles against the rope, Rebecca gave up. She was exhausted and beaten. "Klaus compelled Damon to take Stefan's place if Stefan died. If Stefan was really dead, Damon would have been the one protecting Elena. Not you."

Everyone looked at Damon, whose eyes widened. "I don't remember that happening." He looked at Rebecca and groaned, "Which means that it worked." He bent down quickly and his hand closed around her throat, "What else did he compel me to do?"

Rebecca choked until he let up, "Nothing. He just wants her kept alive for her blood."

"Any other surprises you need to add?" Buffy asked.

Rebecca shook her head. "If Klaus doesn't hear from Stefan by tomorrow...he's coming."

Buffy looked to the others. "That just changes my schedule a bit." She gestured to Elena, "Give me that dagger."

Elena drew it out. "I can do it." Buffy stood back to give her room, and Rebecca struggled even more against the ropes to no avail. The dagger plunged directly into her heart, creating a discolored and bloated corpse.

Buffy stuck out a disgusted tongue at the corpse. "I guess we can toss it in the tomb. I'll get the rock if you guys can bring her in." Damon and Spike picked up her body and hauled Rebecca while Buffy pushed at the doorway. They brought her into the deepest room and set her body down.

Elena followed along. "Where was the hellmouth supposed to be?" She looked around the dark room.

Damon guided her to the corner and pointed to the ceiling. "That phrase brings it out to play. So don't say it."

…

Alaric pulled up to the closest clearing that a car could make to the ruins, and the trio quickly made their way closer. Bonnie spotted the blood-stained grass in the center of the clearing and the parted rock entrance. "Oh my god," she feared, rushing for the entrance.

…

Buffy headed out of the tomb with her cell phone ready to take the picture she originally came for. Damon and Spike trailed closely behind. Elena looked up at the phrase one last time. "I'll be right up," she called.

Bonnie watched Buffy, Damon, and Spike exit, anxiously noting that Elena wasn't with them. "No..."

Jeremy rushed up and called out to them, "Where's Elena?"

"She's down there," Spike answered, nodding a head back to the entrance.

Buffy turned to take the picture of the symbols on the rock for Willow, and Bonnie sobbed. "Elena's dead, she's burying Elena in..." Her eyes grew hollow and with arms outstretched, she began mumbling the phrase that caused Buffy and Damon to collapse in pain.

Buffy screamed in anguish, eyes filling with red, "I can't see!" she screamed, grasping at Spike's coat. Blood vessels in her brain were exploding across her skull. Spike avoided her, knowing that he only had a few precious seconds before Bonnie's attack would break through Willow's protective amulet. He moved before a blink and his right hook grounded Bonnie. Damon uncurled slowly, but Buffy laid still on the floor. Damon's head cleared enough for him to realize Buffy was affected. He reached over to feel her pulse. "Still alive..." he pronounced with a rasp.

Spike closed his eyes in short relief. "What the hell was that?" His hands picked up the unconscious Bonnie by her shirt.

Jeremy wavered, not sure of who to worry about first. "Where's my sister?!" He ran towards the entrance, and saw the top of a brunette head coming up the stairs. "Elena?"

"Yeah," Elena smiled uncertainly and came out to meet him. "What's going on, Jer?" She gasped when she saw Bonnie in Spike's grasp. Then her eyes fell on the prone slayer. "What the hell?"

Jeremy embraced her in a relieved hug, "We thought you were dead."

Damon pushed himself up, his accelerated healing mending the damage as he spoke. "Rebecca's the dead one." His eyebrows screwed together as he looked over to Spike and Bonnie. "Looks like Bonnie might join her, though."

Alaric slowly stepped towards Spike, arms set up. "Let her go."

"Yeah? So she can kill Buffy next time?" Spike twisted his arm around her neck.

"No!" Jeremy shouted. "She just got messed up about a bunch of things and thought Buffy was the bad guy. Let her go!"

Spike stared at Jeremy blankly, considering all of the ways in which he should eviscerate everyone in the clearing. She'd be upset with him. "Only cause it's Buffy's blood asking," Spike spat at Jeremy. "Next time, the witch dies." He dropped Bonnie, then walked to pick up Buffy in his arms. He left, giving one last glare to Jeremy, who now tended to Bonnie. Elena and Damon chased after the couple. They watched as Spike laid her in the back seat of Alaric's car carefully.

"I won't leave her side until she's healed up. Hope you've solved all your problems with this hybrid and that hellmouth by then." Spike dismissed them, "Sod off."

Elena protested, "You can heal her."

"She'll never drink a vampire's blood, and she'll never forgive me if I make her. She heals quickly enough on her own, just not as fast as we do." Spike countered bitterly, settling into the driver's seat. "Good seeing you," he called to Damon, "but you should pick better friends." He turned the key that was left hastily in the lock.


	9. Trying to Help

_Bonnie wakes up / Spike cares for Buffy and discovers something new / Elena gets served / Damon has work to do_

In her bedroom, Bonnie woke up with a sore feeling down the side of her face. She rolled over groggily and saw Elena sitting by her side. Elena snapped closed her book and set it down when Bonnie moved. She shifted and offered her friend a damp towel, "How you feeling?"

Bonnie took it and touched it gently to her swollen jaw. "Not so great."

Elena leaned back, "There's someone who's feeling worse right now." After a sharp look from Bonnie, Elena crossed her arms. "Don't you dare play the righteous card. You were wrong."

"You almost killed her. Jeremy told me that you guys thought I was dead, but you couldn't be bothered to ask, you had to jump to conclusions instead of waiting three seconds because you think she's...I don't even know what you think she is! I even said I would help you figure out if she was for real. But that was when we were on the 'research who she is' phase, not the 'crazy killing spree' phase. Whatever you've got against Buffy, I need you to bench it because she's going to be unconscious for at least a week, and Klaus is coming back tomorrow to get some answers on why Stefan is missing."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it. But she-"

"I don't want to hear it." Elena put up a hand. "I trust her. So leave it alone."

Bonnie silently fumed, then pretended to relent for the moment. She'd bring up Buffy's crater-filled town and risky spells some other time when Elena calmed down. She could count on Elena's eventual need to hear the truth, no matter how painful. "Who was it that died?"

Elena relaxed when Bonnie gave up. "It was Rebecca. She was waiting at the ruins for me and Stefan." When Bonnie asked about it, Elena shared the details of the entire fight.

"That's intense," Bonnie commented.

Elena nodded, "That's an understatement."

Bonnie's analytical mind already sorted through Elena's story. "How did she know that you'd be there? And why wasn't Damon by your side if he really is compelled to protect you?"

"No idea on the first one." Elena took in a deep breath. "But Damon says that compulsion is subject to interpretation. So, he thinks that he must trust Buffy and Spike to defend me when he's not around. Or that she was lying and there's no compulsion. Regardless," she glanced out the window, "he's outside right now."

Bonnie laughed. "That must be hell for him, not knowing."

"He said it didn't make a difference. That he'd protect me nevertheless, and I believe that." Elena laughed along, "But he's very paranoid about it now."

…

Spike had returned with Buffy to their lodgings and set her in bed. He rummaged in her suitcase for a small bracelet. Willow told him before they left that it had some healing properties. He hadn't thought much of it until now. After he set it on her wrist, he watched her for a few minutes, his anger now stretched into worry.

Buffy had rings of blood circling her closed eyes. Spike pushed an eyelid open and found that it was stuck with the congealed mass.

He ducked into the bathroom and turned on the tap. The water hissed into warmth while he grabbed a fresh towel. Sparing one glance into the mirror, he jumped. Where there had always been an empty room, his reflection stared at him.

Not changing position, he scowled at his double. The scar over his eyebrow cut a deep v-shape. Everything else seemed as he remembered it. He ran his hands through his hair, ruffling it into the spikes he loved in the 70's. Then his eyes danced to the ring on his finger. _What else does it do_, he wondered. With the barest twitch Spike dismissed his reflection in the mirror, muttering "for nancy boys." He ran the towel under the hot water.

The dampened towel wiped away Buffy's bloody tears, and he managed to pull up an eyelid and frowned at the redness that filled her sclera. He wished this was a stab wound or a broken bone. Then he could do something to help. For this, there was nothing to bandage or set. He growled in frustration. Only thing was to wait and hope.

…

When Elena left Bonnie's house, Damon stopped pacing in the front yard. "Well?"

Elena didn't react. "Well, what?"

His eyes spared no scorn for her. "Well, did Bonnie say she'd do the spell that would turn off the pesky hell-mouth tonight before Klaus arrives tomorrow looking for vengeance on Stefan and now Rebecca's death?" His manic smile had no joy in it.

"No." Elena kept walking to the car. "She's not in shape for it, and I don't think she'll ever cast it. She didn't say she wouldn't, but it's pretty obvious that she doesn't think Buffy's on our side."

"You didn't even ask her." Damon stated.

Elena drew her hair back over her shoulders. "I didn't."

"You realize how hard you're making my job?" Damon opened the passenger-side door for Elena, then crossed to the other side of the car. It turned easily. "One more visit before going home."

…

"Piss off," Spike answered the knocking at their door without looking up. He reached for the tv remote, turning up the volume. "Come back next year."

Damon forced the door, bending the frame slightly to gain entrance. "Happy New Year," he noticed Buffy's inert body on the bed, then stepped aside for Elena. She brought in a vase of flowers.

Spike leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow at Elena. "Keep them. They'll wilt before she wakes."

Elena's mouth worked, not sure whether to smile sympathetically or frown at the news. "It's that bad?"

"Your friend blew up her brain," Spike stood, his body lumbering to her and setting the flowers unceremoniously on the nightstand. "She's been through worse, but not much." He faced Damon, who dropped a satchel into the room.

"Here's some supplies to get you through a week." Damon explained tersely. "We're not going to come back here while Klaus is in town. I don't want to lead him here, and I don't want him ever knowing that a slayer's anywhere nearby."

"I'll stay out of sight," Spike nodded, keeping his face low. "Now get out of mine."

Damon pulled his eyes to Elena. "Come on," he tried to lead her out.

She refused and pulled away from him, "Why are you so angry? We're trying to help you out."

Spike lit up with anger and came forth to seize Elena's arms. A warning growl kept Damon from attempting to get in between the two. Boring into her eyes, he hissed out, "The way I remember it, _we_ were trying to help _you _with a hellmouth, and then _we_ were going to stick around to kill a hybrid for _you_. _She_ killed one of his servants and gave the witch some handy spells for hellmouth destruction. _She_ helped the witch sanctify _your_ home. _We_ killed the hybrid's sister for _you_. _We_ have been nothing but helpful around here. Your little witch friend better be sealing the gates now, because I'm tempted to open it myself and let this town get what it richly deserves."

Elena didn't breathe, her small frame easily held in place by Spike's grasp. This close, she saw that his eyes weren't brown as she thought, but a shadowed clear blue that told her the same thing that his words did. To stay away. She gasped with relief when he released her. Damon guided the stunned Elena out of the room.

Spike picked up the satchel that Damon had delivered and rummaged through it. Enough blood for a week as promised and some old books. He stashed the blood in the mini-fridge and picked up one of the books to read as he stretched out on the bed next to the sleeping Buffy.

…

Damon watched Elena go into her house from the car. She had asked him to spend the night, but he wasn't finished yet. Her house was protected, and she promised not to go to school in the morning without him. Not that her promise was worth much, he reflected. But this was more important. If Bonnie refused to seal the hellmouth, then he needed to find someone who would.


	10. Dream

_Buffy dreams of an ancestral Slayer / A new witch and an old friend / Dawn reads the Watcher Diaries_

Buffy screamed in pain as her mind opened up. No one in the crowd stopped to help. She screamed her voice hoarse, then curled up crying, her feet hanging over the edge of a sidewalk. A small boy in a pageboy cap finally noticed the pained slayer and placed the string of a red balloon in her hand. Buffy looked up at the balloon. Everything but the balloon was devoid of color. Buffy wiped her tears and released the balloon, which carried away her pain on the winds of her dream.

When she could think again without hurt, she looked at her surroundings. Girls in flapper dresses and boys with sports jackets. A soda shop. Slicked hair. Buffy tried to recall what she knew about the twenties vainly. History slipped out of her memory. Her body moved and acted for her. This was another ancestral memory, so she let it happen around her, taking in what she could. The details always ended up being important.

Her body went into a speakeasy, where a hostess called her Lorraine. She walked purposefully towards a booth in the corner, then found an abandoned seat and lounged, practicing the art of looking bored while scanning the crowd. Surprised, Buffy realized that Lorraine was on patrol. Lorraine's eyes tracked every movement and filtered through conversations with ease while idly holding a drink. When a group of strangers entered, her heart beat faster for a moment before being tamped down.

Buffy's too, skipped when she saw one of the companions. It was the vampire that she staked, the one that everyone called Stefan. He still had the soul-less look that he carried to his death. Lorraine focused on the man with sandy brown hair and a white suit. His lazy gait and intense stare announced his status as alpha, and she parted her lips for a moment, showing some leg as she slid down off the tall stool. He swept her up in his arms with a kiss, and she leaned back with a seductive smile.

"I was wondering when you'd come back to me," Klaus murmured, pulling her in for another long kiss. Stefan walked around them and cleared a booth for the trio to take. Lorraine opened her eyes languidly and tugged Klaus into the private area. "Sorry I was gone so long," she lied, "Daddy found a lover in Long Island and needed me to play hostess and nanny."

They sat nestled in each other's arms. Klaus brushed a finger up and down Lorraine's neck, and Buffy riled with anger. Lorraine blushed, "Not just yet."

"But I've missed your taste," he teased while she rolled her eyes. "You've ruined me for other women."

Lorraine shook her head, "That's what you say to all the girls." She turned to address Stefan. "Is it what he says to all of his girlfriends?"

Stefan leaned closer with a smirk, "Every single one."

A waiter brought around several rounds of drinks without being prompted, and they began drinking in earnest, though Buffy noticed that Lorraine's senses never dropped off, only acting tipsy. The servers must already be instructed to give her virgin drinks. Much later, when Lorraine offered up her wrist to Klaus, Buffy wasn't surprised to see rows of faded bite scars lining her arm.

Lorraine's eyes checked a new arrival to their table briefly without recognition. Buffy gaped. Anya sat across from her. Stefan entertained her with idle chatter while Klaus drank greedily from Lorraine's blood. He finished with a deep kiss on her lips, full of heat and passion. A well-timed throat clearing by Anya presumably stopped Klaus from treating the booth like a bedroom, and Lorraine pulled a bandage from her purse to attend her new wound. Buffy mentally shuddered, trying to shake the feeling of pleasure and still trying to figure out what part her friend played in this scenario.

Klaus reached into his suit jacket and brought out a piece of paper. "Is this what you're looking for?" he waved it gently. Anya nodded and reached for it. "Ah ah," Klaus warned, keeping it close. "What are you giving me?"

She slumped with a pout when he took the paper back and replied simply, "Access to the hellmouth in Mystic Falls as sworn by D'Hoffryn."

"Good girl," he passed her the paper. "Take all the time you need. I'm not in a rush just yet." Anya tucked it into her dress and thanked him. Stefan then took her to the dance floor.

When they were alone again, Klaus grinned at Lorraine. "I'm still jazzed from you. One of these days..."

Lorraine shook her head playfully and finished his sentence, "...You'll never find out my secret."

Buffy gasped. Klaus knew that Lorraine hunted his kind. Lorraine was playing with fire, using an Original for insider information, and Klaus found joy in keeping a hunter as a lover.

…

After a series of calls, a few promises, house calls, and monetary exchanges, Damon made his way to a dive bar called _Good Times_ about 10 miles outside of Mystic Falls at 2am. He asked around the smoke-filled den and was directed to a girl sitting in the corner next to a pile of empty cans. He put on his friendliest tone, "Anyanka?"

Anya's face lightened up, "Anya."

"Damon," he introduced himself.

Anya nodded, still looking at him oddly. "Oh, I know who you are."

He had a nagging feeling that she was laughing at him. He tried to brush it aside and sat down. "You're the only witch that hasn't refused to help me out yet."

"Okay." Her wide eyes betrayed no mirth, "I'm not a witch. Go ahead, feel rejected." Damon reached for a beer at the table before she attempted to slap his hand away. Her hand slid through his with a tingle. "I paid for that. It's not yours."

"You're dead?" Damon bowed his head, disappointed. "You look so..." he waved his hands around.

"Corporeal, yes." she confirmed. "I'm very good at looking it." Anya looked at him expectantly.

Damon dragged a hand down his face. "I'm way too tired for this, so I'll get to the point. Can you do spells?"

"Well, sure." Anya never considered herself a witch, though if she hadn't become a vengeance demon, a witch would have been a clear path. She was a natural with spells, and the hexes she had cast in life packed a nice punch.

He picked out a piece of paper from Stefan's wallet, sliding it to her. "Can you cast these two?"

Anya read the titles of the spells and instantly recognized them. "I can. But I won't." She narrowed her eyes at Damon. "I don't like you enough to wish myself into non-existence. These create areas of no magic, and that would mean poof for me." She looked around the bar. "Not that leaving this town would be a bad thing. But I've seen hell before and I'm not going to be a customer."

Damon popped open a can. "So you're not going to be helpful."

"Fraid not. Why are you creating lands without magic at 2am anyway?" Anya asked, curious.

"There's this hellmouth," Damon began to explain before Anya interrupted him.

"Under Fell's Church?" When Damon nodded, Anya angrily threw an empty can across the room, clattering into a trash can. "A hellmouth killed me. And then I have 'unfinished business' with another hellmouth. It's been eight months since I convinced the Bennetts to open that damn doorway, and it's still not open. What is the hold up?"

Damon guardedly explained, "The door just leads to the tomb. The hellmouth itself is hidden inside, still unopened." He paused. "And _we_ convinced the Bennetts to open it, not you."

"Hah," Anya cackled, "Sheila wouldn't have spent the last bit of energy she had to open a tomb just for her grand-daughter's friend's boyfriend's brother's lover. She had principles."

"Wait." Damon analyzed her last sentences. "Okay, that's probably true. So why did she do it?"

Anya smirked. "Because I performed a ritual to pass along her witchery to her grand-daughter upon her death."

Damon frowned, wondering what else had passed beneath his notice. "Bonnie has been stronger. But if what you're saying is true, you want to open the gate, not lock it up." He stood up with a rueful smile, "Sorry to waste my time."

…

Spike woke to a slight mumbling from Buffy. He tried to gently wake her and succeeded. Buffy still couldn't open her eyes, and her lips barely moved, whispering, "It hurts." Her body didn't move.

Spike smiled softly. "It might hurt for a while."

"Write..." Buffy could only speak simply, but she told him the dream, and he hastily scribbled what he could hear of her low whispers. "Ask...Anya?"

"I'll take care of it," he assured her.

When Buffy fell back asleep, Spike reviewed his notes on her dream. None of it made sense to him, so he decided to call the expert.

…

"Spike!" Dawn greeted her friend. "I could actually use a break from these books. What's new?"

Spike grinned at the girl's voice. "Ah, sorry bit, I need you in research mode."

Dawn groaned and slumped over her table of books. "Seriously? I thought I'd never get tired of looking at pictures of weird demons. But you know, when you're looking through stacks of these things for something with a slightly different tattoo on his left forearm it gets kind of tedious."

"This one will get you into the Watcher's Diaries, actually. I'm looking for a slayer named Lorraine, flapper's era, Buffy just had a dream about her."

"Okay, at least it'll be something different," Dawn grumbled happily. She easily found the journal and thumbed through it. "Oh, I remember reading this one. She's actually one of my favorite slayers. She was very wily, seductive, sort of a loner and a spy. Totally unlike Buffy's style. I bet she didn't like it much."

Spike answered cagily, thinking mainly on Klaus's blood-sucking habit, "I think that's true. We're looking for a time that Lorraine met with Klaus, Stefan, and Anya."

"She never met with Klaus, I tried to dig up everything I could on him and she wasn't referenced...Anya? Our Anya?" Dawn demanded.

"Yeah, she would have been a vengeance demon though. So maybe her as Anyanka." Spike explained.

"Okay..." Dawn skimmed the entries. "Any other details?"

Spike looked at his notes. "They were at a fancy bar, Klaus drank her blood, and Anya was there making a deal with Klaus about the hellmouth."

"Shoot," Dawn mentally kicked herself. "That's Nicholas. Klaus must be her Nicholas. I feel so stupid. She tracked his moves for seven years while in a really twisted relationship with him. I'll send you everything on him from here. Oh my god, I can't believe we overlooked that."

"He could have had tons of aliases over the years," Spike reassured her. "Find the one with Anya yet?"

"Maybe. There's one meeting he had with a witch...who needed a recipe for...ooh. That could be vengeance-y."

"What's that?" Spike asked.

"He gave her a potion recipe." Dawn snapped the book shut. "A very bad one for men. There's...boils." She shuddered, "I'm going to email you guys the info about Nicholas. If he really is Klaus, then it should help out a bunch." Dawn read the entry further. "It says she promised him a hellmouth in return. Would that be the one you're working on?"

"Yeah. Obviously she took her time because it's still shut up eighty years on, but a dream like that right now could mean some unfinished business malarky," Spike concluded.

Dawn frowned. "You think she's back and demon-y?"

"No, I think she's gone ghost. We'll try to find her and see what she knows. Right. Thanks, Dawn." Spike nodded to himself as he clicked the phone shut.

He watched Buffy a few moments longer. She had healed quickly so far, already able to wake and talk. Buffy had lots of dreams, but the slayer ones were always important. And Anya was involved. "Sorry, love. Anya needs us." Spike slit his palm open with a knife and dripped his blood into her mouth slowly.

…

"Wait," Anya called out before Damon walked away. "You want to destroy a hellmouth, and I actually want to do that too. So count me in."

Damon faced her. "I can't trust you."

"But you can't stop me, and you need me," Anya stood up to join him. "Trust is irrelevant."


	11. Alliances

_Klaus gets anxious / Translating the ancient symbols / Spike and Buffy have a confession / Bonnie skips class_

Stefan still wasn't answering his calls. Now Rebecca didn't pick up either. Klaus paced. He didn't actually want to go back to Mystic Falls yet, as he had just found a great big nest of werewolves. But when the best-case scenario he could imagine were his sister and a soldier dead, he had to check on it. So far, only a handful of hybrids followed him. They would have to be enough to deal with whatever happened in Mystic Falls in his absence.

…

That morning, Alaric had taken over the dining table with his wall of photos. His notes were scrawled all across stickies. Jeremy was first to wake and joined him with a bowl of cereal in his hands. "What does it mean?"

"I'm not sure about the whole thing yet," Alaric pointed to the upper left hand quadrant with his pencil, "though I'm pretty sure that this section talks about the original family. Michael made their mother, the original witch, cast a ritual that turned the kids into vampires. Those kids were Klaus, Rebecca, and Elijah." He gestured at more symbols. "There's more to the story here, but it's all mixed up. Somebody killed their mother, there were werewolves, and it talks a little bit about the ancient tree, the sun, and vervain. Stuff we already know."

Jeremy nodded. "What about all this?" he asked, pointing to the right-hand side of the wall.

"I don't know yet. This symbol," he tapped at a swirl, "I haven't figured out yet."

Elena walked down the stairs. "Morning." They greeted her absently.

Jeremy gulped down some cereal. "Aren't there any context clues for what it could be from all the other symbols?"

"It's difficult," Alaric explained. "Like this is Vampire, and there's Werewolf, and I think that one is supposed to be some other kind of monster. Those dashed lines mean that they're doing something, like a verb. Like jumping, or going somewhere. And it's coming from the swirl."

Elena poured her milk on the other side of the kitchen. "Like a place?"

Jeremy agreed, "Yeah, what if this was a place that these are coming out of? Some kind of vortex..."

"A hellmouth," Alaric stood back, considering the implications. The siblings gaped at him.

Jeremy shrugged at Elena. "Independent verification of what Buffy said on a thousand-year-old wall."

"We don't know that yet," Alaric said, busily scribbling more notes. "But I'll try to have the rest of this translated before school."

…

In the main lobby at the inn, Spike printed out Dawn's email and brought it up to their room. Buffy hadn't woke up since the night, but color had returned to her face. He sat next to her on the bed and read through Dawn's notes. Towards the end, he grimaced and nudged Buffy. "Wake up. Time to save the world." She rolled over.

Buffy woke up with a stretch. Everything felt so much better. She sat up straight, stunned at the realization. "I'm okay."

Spike breathed out a smile, "You're okay." He clapped his hands on his kneecaps and stood up. "Get dressed, we've got to stop something from happening."

"Stop what?" Buffy looked at the clothes he had set out with a wary grin. He had even laid out her scythe. "Looks important."

"Yeah," Spike explained, "Klaus knows about the hellmouth, the local witch tried to kill you, and according to your ancestress, Klaus was made a vampire here, at the site of the hellmouth. He made Anya swear on her master to help him open it. We've got to find her and get her some peace, before the full moon tonight."

"You got all that from one night of sleuthing? You need to stop feeding off the teenagers on ritalin." Buffy tugged on her clothes.

"_You_ got all that in one night," Spike corrected. "Your slayer dreams are acting up again. All I did was phone in to little bit for some notes."

She sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her feet. "You know, I really thought I'd still have a hurricane headache. It's a little weird, being completely healed up. Not even a bruise from that fight with Rebecca."

Spike looked at Buffy as she put her hair into a ponytail. He had made a promise once not to lie to her. "I fed you a little bit. But only because your we need to get all this taken care of."

She nodded to herself absently. "Good call."

"What?" Spike approached her. "That's never been okay any time with you ever before. Not even when your leg got broken in Florida and we had to fight that demon the next day while you were sporting a wheelchair."

"I kicked his ass anyway," Buffy countered. "But fine. Take all of your blood back." Buffy pressed up against him. "Bite me." Her hands ran up his chest and she leaned her head to one side, exposing her neck. Simultaneously acting out seduction and a mockery of it.

Spike brought her closer, his undead heart finding a beat. "No," he willed. "You don't want this." He did. "This is about your crazy ancestor who let a vamp feed on her. Suddenly you've got to have it cause she had it."

"It felt so good..." Buffy pouted. "Why can't I have the vampire I love do that to me too?"

Spike fought with his beast within. To taste her, sink his fangs into her, he would have done anything. "After we...kill Klaus, close hellmouth, help Anya, I will drink your blood until you scream for me to stop if you still want me to go for it. How about that?"

She dropped her hands into a hug around his waist, "We can get it all done by tonight. And then..."

"Then we'll try something new in the bedroom," he kissed her.

Buffy leapt away from his grasp easily, picking out stakes and other weapons that she would need and packing them into the car. Spike made his way to the bathroom, glaring at his newfound reflection before shattering it with his fist.

...

Damon parked his car in the Gilbert's driveway and walked in the front door. Elena greeted him with a kiss. He set his hands on her waist. "Do that enough and I'll become a real boy."

She laughed. "Come on in, check out what Alaric and Jeremy found out about the cave painting."

"I almost forgot about that," he muttered, walking into the kitchen. "What's the story?"

Jeremy glanced up at Damon, then at Anya. "Who's the new girl?"

Elena looked at Jeremy oddly, then around the room. "What girl?"

"Oh," Anya pulled herself together, her sudden appearance surprising Elena and Alaric. "I had forgotten that Jeremy can see ghosts now."

"This is Anya," Damon introduced, "She'll be helping us close the hellmouth because apparently Bonnie won't."

Elena nodded with tight lips, "Nice to meet you." Then she backtracked. "Since when can he see ghosts?"

"Ever since he died," Anya said plainly. She walked over to the table that Alaric laid his pictures on. "What _is_ the story?"

"I think I've got it all," Alaric referenced his pages. "It says that the hellmouth can be opened by a vengeful hybrid who speaks the words of power at midnight on the night of a full moon."

"No," Anya remarked, "it doesn't say that at all."

"You can read it?" Jeremy asked eagerly.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm literate. Why is it so hard for people to believe that?" Anya looked at the pictures closely. "The hellmouth can be opened by anyone, at any time. Someone just needs to say the magic words and it comes into being. These aren't directions on _how_ to open it, it's a prophecy on _when_ it will be opened."

Elena stepped forward. If she could really read this, then Damon had found some heavy-weight help. "So when does it say it will be opened?"

Anya faced the group. "A vengeful hybrid will speak the words of power at midnight on the night of a full moon."

Alaric glanced down at his notes. "That's exactly what I said."

"You didn't get the intonation right," Anya argued. "It's prophetical."

Damon interrupted before Alaric could retort, "The next full moon is actually tonight. And Klaus has a lot to be angry about, with us killing Stefan and Rebecca. So I say we shut it down today."

Jeremy agreed. "How can we help?"

…

Bonnie walked out of history class with disappointment. Elena never showed up for class this morning, and a substitute filled in for Mr. Saltzman. Her text messages went unanswered. Something was up, and they weren't letting her in on it. She lingered by Jeremy's locker between periods, but he never stopped by to pick up a new set of books either. The lights flickered off and on before she tamped down her frustration.

She looked out of the window in English class. She should leave, go to the Gilbert's, and find out what was going on. Bonnie raised her hand and asked to go to the bathroom, half telling herself to walk out of school entirely. She received permission and glanced outside again.

Klaus stood on the lawn, looking directly at her classroom. Shaken, Bonnie decided she was definitely leaving.

She forced herself to walk calmly to the front lawn, knowing that he could hear her heart beating to the time of her nervousness. He sauntered to her, the look of confidence and ease plainly written in his movements.

"Come now," he urged Bonnie. "It's my favorite witch that didn't die." Klaus took her arm and walked them towards the park across the street.

She couldn't bring herself to shake him off. "Why are you here?"

"I'm just interested in some local news. How is our friend Elena?"

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "She's _not_ your friend."

"Of course she is," Klaus countered. "I get her gifts, boyfriends, money, bodyguards, whatever she wants. I only want for her to be healthy and alive."

"I guess that's true," Bonnie glared. "Except for the part where you want her blood to create your hybrid army."

Klaus released Bonnie's arm and faced her. His hands held her shoulders at arm's length while he looked into her eyes. "It's just a little bit here and there, just like donating blood. She's safer with me than against me, and I know you can see that plainly. I want her to have everything she desires." He spoke slowly, as if speaking to a child.

"Well, that sounds like a proposal," Bonnie tilted her head. In contrast to his relaxed tone, her voice had a sharp, angry edge. "And that, she won't go for."

"What about you?" Klaus licked his lips. "I'll give you anything you want, including protecting Elena. No one in this town has to worry about my hybrids."

"Whoa," Bonnie stepped back. "You're the bad guy making monsters. No way I'm working with you."

Klaus clicked his tongue in disappointment. "I thought you were the logical one. They were already werewolves, now they're just better at it. And I want you and your friend Elena to stay happy, alive, and content. If she fights me, then I'll eventually have to lock her up and put her on a blood drip. If she helps me with a small donation of blood every now and then, I'll give her anything she wants. Nothing is too good for Elena and her friends."

Bonnie considered this. He made sense, but she didn't want to make any decisions without knowing what the gang was up to. "Let me think about it."

He smiled victoriously. "I'll be around later."

…

In early afternoon, Elena finally responded to Bonnie's text.

_Don't worry about me, everything's good. We found another witch who can cast the anti-hellmouth spell, so you don't need to get pressured into it anymore. I'll call you when it's done._

When Bonnie put her phone away with a sigh, Klaus placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, "How long have you been there?"

"Not long enough." Klaus took his time with words, seemingly savoring each one. "What did they say?"

"She's doing something stupid for someone who's manipulated their way into her life," Bonnie folded her arms and looked up at Klaus. "It's too dangerous for her."

"What about me?" His eyes dropped to hers. "Am I too dangerous for her?"

"No, actually, I think you're right." Bonnie held out a hand. "You're probably our best chance for safety with the slayer around."

Klaus paused for the barest moment. Then he closed his hand around hers. "I, and my hybrids, will keep you, Elena, and the rest of Mystic Falls safe from anything that might come this way."

"And I'll help you do that," she shook his hand.

They released their grasp. Klaus smirked, "I'll take you out to lunch if you tell me everything that's been going on. And don't spare me any details about the slayer."


	12. Early Afternoon

_Spike and Buffy break in / Anya begins the spells / Violence at the Salvatore Boarding House_

"All right," Buffy slammed the trunk closed. "So what's the plan?"

Spike passed the email from Dawn for Buffy to read while he explained, "I asked Damon, he said that you and I are on Klaus watch. We're patrolling anywhere that he and his hybrids would be while the others set up the spells to null the hellmouth."

She blinked her dark eyelids in confusion. "They didn't get to it last night?"

"No, love," he leaned back in the driver's seat, hands resting on the steering wheel. The afternoon sun reached his fingertips through the windshield. "Since Bonnie backed out, Damon had to spend the night looking for a new witch. And now she's got them laying out a circle with wood and salt around the church, but it's going to be a while before they're finished."

"Oh." Buffy mentally shuffled the order of events while she was unconscious. "Klaus is supposed to be looking for Stefan, so let's check the school and the Salvatore's home." She began to read Dawn's notes while Spike drove through Mystic Falls.

The school turned up no sign of the hybrids, so they continued on to the Salvatore's.

The mansion looked empty on their first drive by, but Buffy shuddered slightly. "I'm getting the jeebies. I think he's in there."

Spike frowned. His amulet hadn't warmed, and that meant no vampires were nearby. "Are you sure? I'm not feeling anything." With a nod from Buffy, he circled the car around once more and parked in the driveway. She snatched up her scythe while he loaded up on a few spare stakes. "Front door?"

"Yep," Buffy confirmed. Strategies involving circling the house and going in through alternate routes weren't their style. Buffy and Spike worked well together on combat missions because they were both direct and free of subtlety. She smiled at her partner and walked up to the entrance. "I feel sorry for Klaus."

Spike pursed his lips into a grin. "Me too, love." On an unsaid cue, their shoulders drove in the heavy wooden doors to bursting with a loud crack.

…

Anya surveyed her work so far. Jeremy and Alaric had set up a cauldron at the clearing in front of the ruins. They had set it to boiling with her recipe of herbs and components exactly as she directed. Damon and Elena were setting up the wood, gasoline, and salt circle that surrounded the site about a mile across. Any smaller, and she feared that some ley lines would not bend away far enough from the opening. She felt confidently about their success, except for the prophesy. They had a pesky way of coming true. Only a few more hours, she thought nervously, for her preparation to be complete.

Jeremy sidled up to her. "So how did you know I can see ghosts?"

"Oh," she startled. "Well," Anya evaded the truth that she'd been following their exploits into Fell's Church because of her own interest in it with a different truth, "I know Anna, and she told me a bit about you."

Jeremy straightened up. His full height brought him to be taller than Anya, "What did she say?"

Her eyes pointed up, thinking, "She loves you, you're a dork, you're dating some stupid witch, you're so hot, blah blah blah. All she can talk about is you."

He smiled shyly, "Really?"

"That's a pointless question," Anya moved her hand to smack him lightly. It passed through him.

Jeremy stepped back at the shock of feeling a ghost's tingling non-touch. "Whoa." He moved on. "How did you...you know?"

Wide-eyed, she shook her head. "What?"

"Die," he put it bluntly. Alaric walked closer, listening to their conversation but staying on the edge of hearing while looking busy.

Anya answered, "There was a hellmouth under a school, so the slayers entered and attacked it while we kept the halls secure from any escapees. I died fighting some pretty powerful vampires."

Jeremy considered this. "Was Buffy there?"

Anya laughed, "Yeah, she lead the charge. From what I've heard, they were successful. Slayers around the world were awakened, they beat the first surge of vampires back, and Spike wiped out the rest. That was one of the world's most powerful hellmouths, and it's a crater now." She reflected, "For as much as I don't like being dead, I'm proud that I was there."

Realizing the connection, Jeremy concluded, "So _that's_ what actually happened in Sunnydale." He owed Buffy an apology and an updated story to Bonnie. If she knew the reason why Buffy's hometown was a crater, then maybe she would open up to reason.

"Yep," Anya nodded. "So how do you know Buffy?"

…

Buffy and Spike set upon the half-dozen hybrids scattered around the Salvatore living room with a rhythmic vengeance. As they brawled, the hybrids proved themselves to be more tenacious than vampires, and Spike found himself drawing on all his powers of strength and speed available to avoid a stray bite while fighting them off. Still, the reckless combination of slayer and vampire left two bodies slain on the floor when Buffy noticed Klaus watching from the balcony above the stairs. "Only four left," Buffy twirled her scythe, looking at Klaus's silhouette.

Spike spared a glance upward. "I can take care of them," he kicked at a nearby attacker, "Go get him."

She tumbled to the stairs, making a few swipes at some of the hybrids before sprinting up the stairs to Klaus. He waited until she got close, then stepped into one of the rooms. She followed behind, scythe held tightly in her hands.

Klaus slipped behind her, shutting the door quickly. She spun to face him and found his hand cradling her face. His eyes, a piercing sky blue, met hers before making their lips meet for a kiss. Her grip on the scythe loosened as her body surrendered to his.

Klaus let her melt into him before pulling back to look at her clearly. Nothing in her appearance or manner matched Lorraine whatsoever. Yet, he drew her in for another kiss.

Buffy pushed away. "Whoa, no way. I don't even know why I let that happen." A lie. Dawn mentioned in her notes for Buffy to beware of her slayer's instincts. The last slayer to be with Klaus had an intricate relationship with him, and those resonant feelings could be hard to push away. She stepped back and reasserted, more to herself than Klaus, "We're fighting." The blade swung across Klaus' chest, but he jumped back in time to dodge it.

"We've never actually fought like this before," he licked his lips. "It was always a little more...subtle." His hand picked up a sword on the dresser, and their weapons met. Klaus parried well, but since he never intended to attack, his defenses were too good for Buffy to find an opening. Their blades rang out with clashing sounds, mixing with the thumping of the rougher combat happening below.

Buffy slid the edge of the scythe against his blade, hoping to disarm it. "You'll find that I'm very direct with my hatred."

"You have no reason to hate me," countered Klaus as he stepped back, drawing the sword out of its trapped space.

"Sure I do," Buffy kicked a chair between them and stepped up to gain a height advantage. "Vampire and werewolf. There's two reasons."

Klaus danced just out of her range. "Then explain the vampire boyfriend downstairs."

"He kills more powerful vampires before breakfast than you could ever hope to sire in a lifetime," Buffy jumped off of her perch with a lunging attack that unsettled Klaus from his position. Their weapons locked in a strength battle.

"What happened to us?" he opined, using this time to meet her eyes again. "We were so good together."

"There is no us! I'm not...Lorraine," Buffy stepped back, disengaging. She circled him slowly. "And she was constantly spying on you, killing your friends, destroying your carefully created network... Not a picture-perfect relationship."

Klaus smirked. "Our games were fun." His eyes tracked Buffy's path around him. "Truth is, though," he dropped the sword, letting it clatter on the wooden floor, "I never loved Lorraine." He stepped toward Buffy even as she raised her scythe. "I love the slayer."

"You have issues," Buffy's heart leapt out at Klaus, and she fought to keep her composure. "Issues with a capital I." She changed her grip on the scythe so that the sharpened handle grazed his chest.

Klaus frowned at the burning sensation. His hand closed around the shaft, and a small tingling sensation warned him. "Is this made from the original tree?"

Buffy grinned meanly, "You know, I never bothered to ask. But I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the handle of the scythe passed down to the slayer destined to fight the first evil would be carved from some super-special type of wood." She moved to drive the stake through his heart.

"Wait," the vulnerability in his voice made her hesitate. In that silent moment, Buffy heard a scream of pain from the fight below them. It was Spike's voice. A scream like that could only mean that he got bitten. She lowered the scythe. She couldn't kill him without destroying the cure that Spike needed.

"I'll spare your life," she demanded, "give me your blood."

"No," a sparkle reached his eyes, "You hesitated. You couldn't kill me. And you won't now."

Buffy growled in frustration, then spun the scythe to blade out. "I'll take it by force."

He batted it aside with his hand slapping the flat side. His voice flowed like silk. "Every minute we fight, he's closer to dying. We can make a trade. Your blood for mine. Very equitable."

Buffy swallowed, thinking. It didn't take her long to decide. Spike was too important to her, and they could always return to fight Klaus later. "Fine. But I need yours first."

Klaus nodded and walked out the door. Buffy followed him down the stairs. The once-proudly antiqued room was now in shambles. All six of the hybrids were dead, bodies strewn about the floor in various stages of disfigurement. Spike sat on an overturned couch, gripping his shoulder with his other hand. His clothes were torn and cuts adorned his entire body. When she got a closer look, the bite had torn off a good amount of his shoulder and already turned black. He looked up to Klaus with a white face.

Klaus rolled up his sleeve and offered him a wrist. "Drink up." Buffy sat next to Spike and nodded her encouragement. Spike, too weary to figure out what any of it meant, bared his fangs and bit into Klaus, draining his blood shakily.

After a moment, Klaus pulled his wrist gently. "That's enough..." Spike fell away, still shaking with pain. Buffy checked the wound on his shoulder which had already started healing.

Klaus waited for his skin to heal over, then stretched a hand to Buffy. She took it and stood next to him. "Right here," his head nodded to the prone Spike, "or somewhere more private?"

"Ugh," she shook her head. "This isn't a special moment. Just get it over with." Buffy stuck out her arm.

"No," he breathed heavily, "Not there, after all this time." Klaus stepped in front of her, their bodies inches apart. Buffy let him brush aside her hair, gritting her teeth and steeling herself for the worst.

"The games we play," Klaus whispered, "are more intricate than they seem. With us, the predator and prey seem to change every day. Sometimes I manipulated her into killing an enemy of mine, and sometimes she uncovered a deeper weakness that I never knew I even had. This is only the start of something beautiful. Dream of me," he placed a hand on the other side of her neck, "often."

Spike rolled over and watched them with a resentful glare. If he could even muster strength enough to stand, he'd be knocking Klaus over, he thought. His voice only carried a word, "Bollocks."

Buffy met Spike's eyes and smiled nervously at him while Klaus dug his fangs into her neck. Her head rolled back in pain, then pleasure as her knees gave way. Klaus moaned and swept his arm underneath her body to support her. After what felt like too long, she pushed him off. "Ow," she stated loudly, as Klaus smirked.

"Let yourselves out." Klaus walked back up the stairs, then called out distractedly, "Buffy's allowed back whenever she likes."

Buffy bent over the slowly recovering Spike and offered her arm for him to pull himself up. "Can you get up yet?"

He groaned and let her help himself to a seated position on the upturned sofa. "What was that about?"

"We made a trade," Buffy explained. "His blood to heal you in exchange for...that."

"Creepy son of a bitch," Spike groaned. "Next time, kill him and let me die."

"Will do." Buffy helped Spike out of the house.


	13. Warnings

_Damon gets annoyed / Tyler and Caroline in the woods / Spike and Buffy rejoin the group / Klaus waits_

Out in the woods, Damon slipped the phone back in his pocket, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "They didn't kill Klaus," he explained to Elena.

She took a handful of sticks from the wheelbarrow and laid them along the line marked in salt. "Who didn't kill Klaus?"

"Buffy and Spike." Damon picked up the gas can and doused the next section completely, creasing his eyebrows, "Are we doing it right? This spell seems like it's going to set the whole mountain on fire."

Elena straightened up to face Damon. "I thought that Buffy should have still been in bed, recovering for a week or more. What happened?"

Damon shrugged halfheartedly. "Spike told me he healed her up. No explanation. You can ask your BFF about it when they get here after they lick their wounds from the tussle with Klaus. Hey, and guess where he turned up?" Damon emptied the contents of the can, "My home."

Elena sighed, "Damon..."

"No, it's fine," he interrupted her. "I didn't need any memories of the best and worst times I've spent with my brother. He's dead now, don't need things like that holding me back." He flung the empty can into a tree. A loud clanging noise silenced the animals in the forest for a moment. "Goddamnit."

Elena watched him lash out with a sad smile. Grief never came to Damon easily, but she knew how he usually expressed it with his fists. She found herself surprised that he hadn't done this earlier. "Hey," she called softly with an arm outstretched, "come on."

He walked to the wheelbarrow and started walking it to the next area. "A hug's not going to make me feel better right now, sweetheart. Let's just get this over with."

…

In the same woods, a couple sat on a felled tree at the edge of a small lake. She linked her perfectly manicured fingers in his rough hands. "Are you sure you're ready for tonight?"

Tyler's head bobbed left and right, mimicking his vacillating thoughts. "I don't know. Are you sure you still want to be here when it happens?"

Caroline's smile reassured him, "Of course I do. And how could I not be here? I've come with you _this_ far, I have to see this through." She leaned into him slightly, "Plus, if it does hurt, or you lose control...you're going to need me around." His heart picked up a beat, and her eyes crinkled up at his excitement. Somehow, she had eclipsed his nervousness with just a smile, and he held out his disengaged arm. "Go on," she urged him.

Tyler stared at his arm, willing forth the beast that resided in his body. Only a few times had he fully transformed into a werewolf, and they had always been filled with pain. The turning times had gotten shorter, but then Klaus entered his life and turned him into a hybrid: part werewolf, part vampire. Tyler vowed never to turn werewolf again, and Caroline helped him live at peace with the bloodlust that gave him the ability to shut down his werewolf side completely.

His eyes filled with red while black veins webbed down his face. Caroline squeezed his other hand tighter, watching the arm carefully. It shook slightly, then began to warp, skin stretching impossibly.

Just a few weeks ago, Caroline asked him if he missed becoming a werewolf. His first reaction was complete denial. Of course not, it only brought him pain, loss of control, and a blackout session, he had answered. Perhaps he could have continued the rest of his life this way, denying the wolf inside his heart to take hold of his body ever again. Or perhaps it was so desperate to burst forth that he had discovered something none of the hybrids had yet to learn.

Claws grew from Tyler's fingers and light fur covered his lengthened forearm. Caroline squealed, "That's perfect! You are getting so good!" Boosted by her cheerfulness, Tyler leaned in to kiss her.

The emotionless vampiric control that Tyler had over his mind could help him control the werewolf transformation. He was able to call forth the wolf, and he was no longer its puppet. Tonight would be their final test to see if he truly had control of the beast when the full moon took to the sky.

…

Spike and Buffy arrived at the site of Fell's Church with Alaric's car. He placed a hand on hers before she could exit the vehicle. "You okay?" After the fight at the Salvatore's with Klaus, she hadn't said much.

"Yeah," her hand touched the spot where Klaus bit her. They had put a bandage over the puncture marks. "No, it's weird." Spike's features softened, nodding for her to continue. "It's – I feel violated."

When Buffy fell silent, Spike sympathized, "It's not weird to feel that way. Hell, I feel out of sorts for taking blood straight out of his arm. It's too intimate. And for you, it's worse. That's...a bite like that, it's how most slayers meet their end." He moved his hand to cover the one over her neck. "We'll get him back for it."

Buffy licked her lips. "He's messed up, and it's making me crazy. I don't know if I want to kill him or kiss him." His eyes darted straight to hers in alarm. "Not like that."

"Like what, then?" Spike pulled away.

Buffy stuttered, trying to explain. "It's just...Dawn actually warned me about this in her email. The last slayer around him actually was really close with him, so...the slayer instincts are to, you know, be relationshippy with him." She grimaced. "Not that _I_ want to do that at all. He's creepy, and also the big bad. But..." she sighed, "It was really hard this afternoon. While we were fighting, I also had to fight myself." That would be the closest she could get to admitting that she got caught off guard and he kissed her, she decided.

Spike's mouth twitched, alternating from relief that she wasn't attracted to him and anger at Klaus' hold on his love. "No more solo showdowns, pet. You, me, Damon, we should be able to take him on together, and if he tries anything on you again, then I'll kill him all the faster for it."

"Okay," Buffy smiled hesitantly. She opened the door and stepped out of the car. Spike left the key in the lock for Alaric, joining her. They stood together for a moment, and Buffy spoke again. "You're the only one for me."

Spike smirked. "Sure."

"Hey," Buffy punched him lightly in the gut, "It's true."

He held his side, pretending to be wounded, whining, "Owww." His open mouthed smile and mischievous eyes served to egg Buffy on. "Stop hurting me." They ribbed each other while walking to the ruins, and Buffy felt much happier by the time they set upon the clearing.

Buffy and Spike walked towards the ruins where Jeremy and Alaric worked over a cauldron. Buffy waved to her cousin. When a third figure turned around, Buffy stopped moving. "Anya?"

"In the non-corporeal flesh," Anya affirmed with a grin at her two friends.

...

After Klaus went up the stairs, he collapsed in the first bedroom with a short laugh. When Bonnie had told him of the slayer, he halfway disbelieved her. But this girl was the real thing. He had met some slayers in the past few years, but they never tasted right. With this one, the intoxication matched everything he remembered. The power coursing through his veins felt the same.

Klaus needed to act before her borrowed strength left his body. He'd have to make his move by opening the hellmouth tonight. After Bonnie sabotaged the spell, he could slip into the crypt and say the words that had finally appeared. And if it came to a fight, he could easily take on an army like this.

He still had a short while before the spells were supposed to be finished. His hands folded behind his head as he reclined, thinking through his plans for the night.


	14. Sunset

_A Sunnydale reunion / Ghost talk / Bonnie and Klaus await the casting_

The couple stepped back in unison, stunned. "Anya!" Buffy reacted first, with a smile that covered up her shock. "What are you doing here, with the people I'm working with, right now?" _One of these days_, she thought to herself, _I'll stop being surprised at every coincidence. Working with demons and vampires should have taught me to stop expecting dead people to stay that way._

A slight breeze chilled the gathered troupe, and they unconsciously all stepped a little closer to each other and the open flame for warmth. Only Anya remained still at her cauldron, stirring the pungent mix diligently. Holding the long spoon drained some energy, but she had to take over when Jeremy and Alaric proved to be terrible potion-masters. "Damon invited me to join the crew. There are some spells that need to be cast for the hellmouth to close up for good, and I'm pretty much the only one who will do it." A twitch affected her face. "Good to see you too."

Spike hunched up his jacket and smiled gamely at Anya. "Don't be like that, love. It's good to have you here." He glanced at the others gathered around. "I'll help her with the ju-ju. Go be useful somewhere else." A stern look sent Buffy along with Jeremy and Alaric to find Damon and Elena in the woods to finish off the circle.

Anya shrugged lightly. "Why'd you send everyone away?" A silence answered her as Spike placed his hand over the wooden spoon. "Counterclockwise," she ordered. "And slowly. It's not a batch of mayonnaise." She let him take over, easing her strength away from the tactile plane.

Spike nodded to himself, looking down into the soupy mixture. "It's hard, isn't it? Being a ghost. I was lonely all the time, I had these episodes where I disappeared. I just...wasn't even me anymore. I was nothing. It's terrifying, and lonely, and it messed with my head." A sigh escaped his lips, then turned into a tense laugh when he looked up to the sky. "Life's funny, I never thought I'd be welcome in this world, out in the daylight, or see anyone again. Everything changes before you can get used to it. But being a ghost, Anya, it lasts forever in here."

Anya hugged her arms across her chest and scoffed, "Thanks for the pep talk. I think I've gotten used to the crushing despair by now."

He met her eyes. "No, you haven't. You're trapped between two worlds, and while you'd probably like to be alive again, going to hell is even more attractive than being a ghost. It hurts where you are, and all you have to do is complete a little unfinished project and you're on your way." He shifted his weight, never stopping at the cauldron. "I would have done anything to make it be over. I wouldn't blame you one bit if you did it."

Anya frowned. Spike had first-hand knowledge of her situation, and he wasn't telling her anything new. She did feel lonely. Even now, with two of her old friends nearby, she felt like she was shouting at them from miles away just to hear them whisper back. It took serious concentration to see clearly, much less interact with physical objects. His tone had stopped being friendly, and she worried that he knew more than she expected. She put on an innocent affection, "Did what?"

Spike audibly groaned. "Don't pull that sweetheart act. Right about ninety years ago you made a trade with Klaus. Some man-eating potion for a promise to open up a hellmouth. He gave you all the time you needed, and you probably never expected to get around to it so soon. And here we are at the door of a hellmouth, you being the witch that will stand between us closing a hellmouth and Klaus getting the magic words. If you let him have it, no more ghosting. No more loneliness. And I wouldn't blame you a single bit. I'd say you made the right choice for yourself, and that you chose your sanity over making some things more convenient for your old pals."

Anya mentally cursed at Spike's cleverness.

"But here's the deal. If you don't sabotage this spell or otherwise stab us in the back, yeah it'll mean you have to stay a ghost a little while longer. But we'll pull all the strings in the world to get you back. It can happen. One of the things that kept me sane, you know, was this girl who would not stop fighting to find a solution and make me whole again. We'll do that for you, and we'll bring you back."

"Spike," Anya shook her head. "I wouldn't have done it."

"But you were thinking it." He smirked, "Don't worry about it. No one needs to know that it was ever an option. After what you did for us in Sunnydale, you deserve this. I only just found out today that you were a ghost, or we would have been looking for you sooner."

Her arms stretched out to hug him. Spike bore it easily, letting her barest touch squeeze him. "How _did_ you find out about all of that, anyway?"

He shrugged. "Klaus's girl in the booth where you made that deal was a slayer, and Buffy just had that dream last night."

Anya's hug phased away and she stepped back, thinking back to that moment. She hadn't considered that Lorraine was a slayer. "Weird. Oh," she thought of Spike's relationship with Buffy. "I guess not that strange. Very normal, in fact, if I consider that now I've known two slayers and they've both been with vamps. It must be ordinary."

Spike shook his head. "It's still strange because I'm pretty sure Klaus is hitting on Buffy."

"No," Anya disagreed. "It's pretty normal for vampires to want the slayer's blood. I've heard the flavor is unmatched, and the strength that it gives is supposed to be quite a rush."

He groaned, now considering Klaus' earlier power-up on Buffy's neck. "Just when I thought I had everything covered..."

...

Bonnie stalked the handiwork from the other side of the church. Gasoline-drenched logs of wood set in salt were beginning to form a large circle. She frowned deeply, knowing that if this spell came to fruition, it would take Mystic Falls with it. She pulled a pinch of herbs from her pocket and whispered a magical phrase that picked up the winds. With a toss of essence, the wood in front of her splintered and blew away in the air. Keeping an eye out for her friends, she continued around the circle to scatter more of its pieces.

…

The addition of Buffy, Jeremy, and Alaric helped complete the circle in less than an hour. When everyone reconvened by the cauldron, sunset threatened to overtake the sky. Elena pulled her jacket closer, causing Alaric to ask, "Cold?"

"Not really," she looked though the forest to see the bits of orange sun peeking through the branches. "I'll just feel a lot better when this hellmouth is closed and the only threat left to deal with is Klaus. How's that potion coming?"

"It's done," Anya replied. "No reason not to get it over with right now. I need everyone to take a drink and form a circle around the center."

Elena took a sip from the proffered ladle. "There's a lot more ritual to this spell than I'm used to seeing."

"There are abbreviated versions," Anya explained, "A powerful witch could do it with just the burning circle. But I didn't even have that kind of power back when I was a human witch. I just had a couple of well-timed hexes before gaining access to a different sort of power," she referred to her vengeance abilities vaguely. "So I need more oomph to make up for the lack of power. Plus, as a ghost I might fade out in the middle of this. If everything is set up properly, then the spell will complete itself."

"Really?" Elena looked concerned. "I had no idea that magic could do that..."

"Magic is just a word for harnessing raw power drawn from the cosmos. Bending it to your will requires all of the dirtiest tricks you know." Anya watched everyone drink the potion and assemble. "Now shush and join hands as I begin."

…

Klaus quietly appeared at Bonnie's side. "Will the spell fail?"

"Yes," she murmured, watching her friends stand in a circle while Anya began to speak in tongues. "I broke the circle in five places. But this spell is strange. The one that Willow told me to use is different than what she's casting."

"How so?" he asked, staring out over the group in the clearing.

"There wasn't a potion, or a human circle in the center of it. And what they're doing, it's just more...elaborate." Bonnie sighed, trying to explain. "I've seen other spells have multiple versions before, but all this ritual is like using a sledgehammer when all you really need is a screwdriver."

Klaus smiled to himself. This meant that the spell wouldn't just fail, there would be some backlash. "Keep an eye on them. Protect your friends if you need to, just don't tell them that I was here."

Bonnie nodded, "Of course."

Klaus's lips curled as he stood in wait at the edge of the clearing.


	15. Power

Air buffeted the circle from all directions as Anya began speaking the words of power. Her voice carried strongly over the rising sound of shaking trees. The purple sky filled with dead leaves taking flight. The words, a mix of Latin, Sumerian, and Nordic took shape, drawing magical power from the ley lines in the ground into the standing circle. They crackled and glowed, each person a vessel of power clinging tightly to each other.

The laid out wooden circle stretching miles around them exploded into a rushing roar of ash and fire. Its flames rose impossibly past the tree tops, fueled by gasoline and magical energy. Power trembled beneath the earth as Anya's eyes gasped open, "It's broken, it's all wrong."

No one heard her as she faded into the nothing.

The flames rose further, threatening to burn the clouds. The ley lines ripped out of the ground and whipped out like freed tentacles of power. They flailed before finding a new pattern, lighting up the shape of a pentacle as they sank back into the earth. The logs, exhausted by the flame, wicked out easily. Air calmed once more, and when the ground gave its last heave, the group stumbled and fell.


	16. Midnight

_The wolf discovers the traitor / The group breaks up / Damon confronts Klaus / Counterspells and Caroline_

Tyler howled, leaving only the sound of baying wolves in the wake of early night.

Caroline raced through the woods to chase Tyler's path. Now that she didn't need to be afraid of him, she thought that his wolf form bounded through the forest gracefully. They were heading to the source of the earthquake, where they saw flames reach the sky. Now there was nothing, not even smoke rising from the site. Tyler stopped when he reached a burnt and scarred path in the ground.

Caroline's eyes followed the path. "It goes around the old Fell's Church. Elena said that she's been coming here lately with that slayer. It's some kind of mystical hotspot."

Tyler's nose lifted in the air, sniffing out directions. He whined, pawing at the ground in front of Caroline before leaping to follow the edge of the circle. Tyler led her upwind of Klaus and Bonnie, where they hid and silently listened to the couple.

…

Bonnie stood in shock, amazed at the power surging through her. Klaus slunk back to her side, too stunned while watching the ritual to attempt going to the crypt. She shook her head and muttered to him, "It's too much."

"What do you mean?" he asked, concerned. "You mean it worked anyway?"

"No," she explained, "It's like there's so much available power here. I could do a simple levitation spell and end up on the moon." Bonnie looked over the field and reflected, "The lines formed a pentacle. So all the power is focused now, like a nexus. It's extraordinarily strong."

Klaus paced, shuffling the newly settled leaves into a path. "I recognized the witch they used. I made a deal with her, once. She might have sabotaged the spell on her end too, not knowing I had you."

"Who was she?"

"A vengeance demon," Klaus revealed. "Buffy must have brought her in to help. No other witch in the tri-state area would dare to try the banished spell." His eyes formed slits as he pulled an arm around Bonnie. "It's getting harder to protect Elena when Buffy brings so many dangerous people to Mystic Falls."

Shadows cast by the moonlight surrounded the couple as they watched the clearing from a distance.

...

Damon recovered first, shaking her head to clear the rattling noise. "That was different." He helped up the others.

"It felt like it did something," Elena groaned. "I don't see Anya anywhere."

Spike assisted Buffy and noticed her paling, "You don't look all right."

"Yeah I don't feel...a hundred percent," she smiled shakily. Buffy stood on her own weight, refusing to let them see her weakened. Her hand still rested on Spike's arm just in case. "The head exploding thing, fighting Klaus, and this spell was a lot to handle in the last 24 hours. Consider my to-do list complete."

The rest of the group straightened themselves up and looked around. Nothing looked noticeably different in the clearing, aside from the scorched lines of earth criss-crossing the ground. "Anya mentioned she might disappear when it's done because she's magical and this whole area's now anti-magic," Damon tried to explain. "We're done here. Go home," Damon encouraged them. "I'll stay the night in case Klaus does show. You two," he looked at Jeremy and Alaric, "take Elena home."

...

Caroline put up a hand to her forehead. Elena had kept Caroline up to date with texts on her drama, but she never expected to find Bonnie working with Klaus. When the group began to split up, she motioned for Tyler to follow. She didn't want Tyler to be discovered by Klaus, the sire who held him powerless with a word. And he could warn the others. The wolf streaked away, understanding her intent.

...

Damon finished clearing off the potions table by sweeping herbs carefully into their bottles and stacking them into a case when he heard the footsteps approach. He didn't turn around to look. It would be Klaus. "You can't have the hellmouth anymore," he declared.

"I can have anything I want," his smug voice rang out behind Damon. "All I have to do is reach out and take it."

"Spoken like an entitled brat who cries to mommy every time something goes wrong," he retorted, turning to face his foe. The air felt damp and heavy between them. "Too bad you killed her."

"Good for you, doing some research. Otherwise you wouldn't have had a witty comeback. While you were hitting the ancient history books, I've been having my own adventures." Klaus snarled, revealing elongated fangs. "I'm much stronger now. One of those history lessons I've learned is to carry a bigger stick."

Damon's eyes filled with red and rushed at Klaus. His opponent dodged, easily twice as fast as he could move. Klaus reveled in his speed, darting between every punch and thrust. The slayer's blood gave him an extraordinary well of strength and speed to draw from. He snatched at Damon's shirt, keeping him at arm's length. "I also learned not to fight pointless battles. Stand down."

Damon's fists relaxed. "Dammit." Rebecca had held back information on Klaus's compulsion of him. He couldn't even step towards Klaus in anger. Still, he could bargain for something. "I know where your sister is."

"Yeah, she's down there," he smirked. "I'm going to go rescue the girl and open the gate. Ooh," Klaus paused mid-step, "I sound like a hero. Guess that makes me one of the good guys." He sauntered to the crypt.

Damon backed up a step, cursing his hindsight, then dug out his phone.

"Whoa!" Anya reappeared by the cooled cauldron. Her eyes darted across the clearing, laying to rest on Damon. "It didn't work! Someone put holes in your circle of fire, so the spell created a powerful nexus instead of a no-fly zone."

"Then we don't have any time," Damon tried to explain quickly, "Klaus is going down there right now."

"Why didn't you stop him?" she bickered. Her hands fidgeted anxiously. "Quick, what spell can stop him? Think, think, Anya." She began pacing, then threw open the case and despaired at its contents. "No eye of newt? What was I thinking?"

"The protection spell," Damon realized. "There used to be one that trapped everyone inside. Is it possible to re-cast it?"

"Hm." She frowned. "He would access the hellmouth but getting out...it'd buy us time at least."

…

Bonnie watched Anya's reappearance, then grew concerned at Damon's suggestion. She needed to counter it. Anya was already throwing spell components in the air recklessly. Bonnie opened her mind to the magical pathway and listened carefully to Anya's chants. As she twisted the words around, the magic molded to her shape because she was the stronger witch.

Anya felt the pull of her magic spinning out of control. Damon saw Anya glance about wildly and began scouting the edge of the clearing.

…

When she heard Bonnie counterspell the protection chant, Caroline reached her decision quickly. She bent down carefully and picked up a handful of leaves as silently as possible. Then in one pounce, she pulled Bonnie back and stuffed them into her friend's mouth. "Here!" she called to Damon. "I've got her!" Bonnie struggled in her grasp, then began moving her hands into different patterns. Caroline grabbed one of her hands as Damon sped to her side. "Help me pin her down."

He held the other arm still and pulled at his belt out to tie Bonnie's arms back. "What are you doing here, blondie?"

"Saving your butt, apparently," she replied curtly. "What the hell is all this?"

"The latest attempt to stop Klaus. Sorry you weren't invited to the party," his eyes pointed to the sky. "We thought you'd be with full moon boy." They dragged Bonnie's writhing body out into the clearing, where Anya finished her spell with a gasp.

"I was," Caroline told him. "I sent Tyler to track Elena."

Damon glanced at Caroline with a frown, but before he could grill her on Tyler's control of his wolf form, Anya interrupted with a shout. "I've put all the magic juice in this area on containment duty for the church ruins. I've bought you maybe a day or two before you have to find a permanent solution."

"What's all this 'you' stuff? You gonna stop helping me out, Anya?" Damon pushed.

Anya wavered, looking down at Bonnie. "In life, I promised Klaus access to the hellmouth. As soon as he says the words, I'm off. I'll probably go to hell," she commented matter-of-factly. "I think I've done more bad things than good." Anya staggered. "I think it's happening. What time is it?"

Caroline jabbed at her cell phone. "Midnight."

"Prophecy," Anya coughed out white vapor. "There's more. Finish reading it." A coughing fit sent her body into a mist. Damon and Caroline watched the ghost dissipate for a few minutes before turning to each other.

"So..." her eyes brightened.

"Don't give me that, Caroline," Damon warned. "No chipper than thou attitude."

"You could at least give me the cliff notes on what happened," she begged. "All I got was an earthquake and my best friend working with the local evil hybrid." Caroline helped Damon carry Bonnie into his trunk. "What are you going to do with her?"

"I need a witch, and she's the only one left in town," he sighed. "So if you and Elena can make her see reason, then she's back on the team." Damon slammed the trunk. "Let's go to the Gilbert's."


	17. Safehouses

_Klaus explores the ruined church basement / Anya's last curse / Tyler is invited in / Spike's proposal / Damon sends everyone to bed_

Klaus' shoes tapped down the stairs into the ruined church's basement lightly. This crumbling edifice would not serve much longer, he considered. A donation to the historical landmark society might spruce up the new entrance for the gateway between worlds.

He walked past his sister's dried and discolored corpse. Her body lay crumpled in a heap where the others had dumped her without care. Plenty of time later to deal with it, if he wanted to raise her. She had fought the Slayer and failed. He fared better in his battle with her, though having his hybrids strike a killing wound in Spike was the winning strategy. Strong women like her, he reflected, always surrendered if it would save someone else. He wouldn't be able to count on Buffy bringing her own hostages next time.

Klaus paused for a moment underneath the words, not glancing up at them. Yes, this was Lorraine's everlasting gift to him. Slayers that remembered him. And what it felt like to be with him. Even now at the end of the day, he felt a tinge of electricity whenever he moved. Her blood tasted exactly the same as it did those many years ago. Like power.

Outside, Anya built him a magical cage from the newly bursting nexus of energy. Klaus felt the bonds sit on the outside of his consciousness. The walls seemed to close in just a little bit tighter.

That clinched it. No one cages this wolf, he growled. Tonight he would open the hellmouth. His breath caught as he looked up. The words of power glowed in anticipation, crawling with spirited light. Klaus touched his fingertips to the rough surface and dragged over the phrase. Mesmerized, he read aloud.

…

Anya's fading essence hissed one last unheard curse. Perhaps she still had some remaining power as a vengeance demon. Or perhaps the surging power still bubbling up from the newly aligned ley lines bent to her will more easily than she had thought it would. "Bear the mark of the dead, Klaus. Your hybrids will wear it well."

When the light mist that was Anya's ghost evaporated from sight, a star twinkled just the slightest bit brighter in the night sky.

...

Tyler's wolf form streaked after Elena's escorts. His speed soon overtook them, and he scouted around the Gilbert's house before their arrival. Colors and shapes mattered less in this form. His eyes instead darted around the underbrush, looking for movements. The air lay perfectly still, letting his sight track bird flights and small rodent rustling easily. No larger movements. After some more careful sniffing and listening, he concluded that Klaus hadn't stationed any hybrids at their home. When they pulled in, he was sitting by the door, yellow eyes vigilantly scanning the car.

Elena's eyes grew wide as she saw the large wolf at their door. "Oh my god..." a hand clutched at Jeremy's light jacket. He let her cling as they looked to Alaric for guidance.

Tyler saw their fear, so he lay down and whined slightly.

Elena blinked in disbelief at the prone wolf. "Tyler?" she asked. When he sat back up in response to his name, she smiled in recognition. "Don't scare me like that." She released Jeremy and walked quickly to the door, shaking her hair in waves. The men followed behind her as she unlocked the door.

"Tyler Lockwood, you may enter," she invited him. "Jeremy, would you mind getting some clothes so he can change?" Elena kept her voice light and airy, trying to emphasize her nonchalance. Caroline said he was safe, she reminded herself. Her brother silently took the stairs two at a time.

Tyler stepped into their home with his nails clicking on the wooden floor. She watched the predator's easy gait, taking in shallow breaths as she tried to memorize his wolfen features. "Caroline says that you can control it better now," she tried talking to put herself at ease, "Does it still hurt?"

Tyler nodded slowly, still sensing the small vibrations in her hand that gave away her fear. He kept every move deliberate.

"I guess that was a stupid question," she backtracked, staring into his predatory eyes. "I'm not good at this. Just...make yourself at home."

…

Spike shed his boots at the foot of their bed. "You sure you're all right, love?"

She snuggled into the covers. "Yeah. Just some rest, and I'll be perky again." Buffy's body begged her for sleep, but her curiosity wouldn't let her lie still. "So what was up with you and Anya?"

"Ghost talk," he fell in beside her. "And making sure her unfinished business stays that way."

"Hm," her fingers intertwined with his. "Thanks for checking up on that dream. And for everything else, too."

He pulled her close. "Oh, I haven't done that much today."

Buffy rolled her eyes and settled into him. "You had my back in everything. You know," she turned to face him. "We haven't had a fight about anything between us in the last two years. It's only been fights about strategies, and goals, and demons. But you and I..."

"We're a right pair, aren't we? Hard to believe." Spike smiled gently. His hand stroked her face as he cleared his throat. "Is there something you're getting at?"

She nodded and pushed herself into a sitting position. The light from the nightstand illuminated Buffy's hair even as she pushed it behind her shoulders. "Cheesy though it is...you are the only one for me. I can't imagine being even half as happy with anyone else by my side. You've pulled me out of the fire more times than I can count, and I'm done waiting for everything to quiet down so I can live a normal life."

"Never gonna happen," Spike agreed, grinned openly. "Marry me."

"You..." she pursed her lips. "That's not what I was getting at."

His arms circled her waist. "So you just get off on toying with my feelings? What else could you possibly be leading up to?"

Buffy paused, blinking her dark lashes at Spike.

...

When Damon entered carrying Bonnie slung over his shoulder, Tyler had already changed back to his lanky human form. He sat with Elena, Jeremy, and Alaric at the kitchen table as they ate a midnight snack of cereal. Except for Tyler, everyone's clothes were covered with dirt marks and wear. Elena stood suddenly at the sight of Bonnie, "What's going on?"

He dropped Bonnie onto the couch. "Strategy planning session at 6am sharp." His head swiveled around the room. "It's good news, bad news. But," he silenced Elena's protest with a glare, "it can wait til everyone gets some rest. We all sleep here tonight."

Caroline entered behind him, "I got some rope from the garage, is that okay?" She tossed it to Damon, who used it to begin tying up Bonnie.

"Yeah," Elena replied curtly, picking up her bowl and dropping it off in the washer. "I can't wait to hear this one." Damon's frown deepened as he pulled the ropes tighter.


	18. The Plan

_Confronting the traitor / Buffy makes a plan / The Gilberts take a hike / Spike and Dawn have words_

Elena's slippers clomped down the wooden stairs gracelessly. Her pace slowed when she saw all of her friends sitting around the kitchen table with a steaming coffee aroma swirled around the room. Alaric turned to the cabinet and snatched up a mug for her. A mumbled word of thanks escaped her lips as she looked over the assembled group. Caroline nestled herself into Tyler's arms, Jeremy and Alaric leaned against the counters, Damon broadened his smile to her as she came closer, and Bonnie offered a small nod. "Welcome back," Elena affected Bonnie with a tilt of her head. After sliding into a seat, she took Alaric's proferred mug and looked to Damon. "So, no ropes now?" she asked, referring to Bonnie's currently freed state.

Damon grimaced, "Yesterday, she screwed up the spell we worked on. After you left, I found out that she and Klaus were working on sabotage." His intake of breath filled the room, "Because of her, the old church is flooded with tons of voodoo energy, and _not_ shut down like we wanted. Then Klaus went down there. Anya used her last amount of strength to put the mystic lockup on it, but she said that we probably only have a few days until that breaks."

Elena's eyes immediately darted to Bonnie. "What? You worked with Klaus?" Bonnie avoided her gaze.

Caroline confirmed it for her, "I found her at the edge of the clearing watching everyone and casting a counterspell, standing right next to Klaus."

"Oh my god," Elena shook her head, "I thought you just didn't want to be a part of this...but destroying our only chance to close it? Going to Klaus's side?" Her voice was almost a whisper, "I don't believe it. Were you compelled?"

Bonnie leaned over he table, head hung, "No." Her hands fidgeted with themselves. "He told me that if I helped him, he wouldn't hurt you or bring hybrids to Mystic Falls anymore. He," her voice caught, "he wants your blood, but he doesn't want you or any of us, to suffer for it. It's in his best interest to keep us happy. And alive."

The coffeemaker beeped in the long pause that followed. Tyler finally let out a small growl. "He did me a solid in making me a hybrid. But it's a favor I'm anxious to prove I won't be paying back. The guy is evil. How can you not see that? He rips people from the inside out. He doesn't think humans are worth the dirt underneath his feet. You can't trust anything he says." Tyler's eyes set a glare fixedly on Bonnie's downturned head.

"Actually," Elena pulled her hair behind her shoulders, "I do believe it. I think he means it when he says he wants me to die of old age. If he says he'll give up on Mystic Falls for me, I think he'd really do it. But I don't want to be a part of his hybrid army. I don't want my blood out there, fueling some kind of war against humanity or who knows what." Her fingers tapped along the table, "It's just not right." Alaric nodded along with Elena's words.

Bonnie looked up with red-stained eyes, "You'd rather have a life that's a battle to the end?"

"Yes. I'll fight him until one of us is dead," The chair screeched across the floor when Elena stood up, beginning to pace. "We've just been reacting to everything he throws at us, and even if we win the fight, we're always losing time. We finally get the upper hand on him with the plan to shut down this hellmouth at Fell's Church. And then it was you, my friend, who turns traitor. How sad is it that I trust Klaus, the man who wants to drain my blood to create an army, more than I trust you right now?" Her hand brushed against her forehead. "I'd love to never deal with him again, but that's not going to happen."

"Hear, hear," Damon chimed in. The collected group lifted their mugs in assent. "Bonnie, there's only two sides in this fight." His eyes narrowed at her, "If we didn't need a witch badly, I wouldn't even be giving you a second chance, but here we are."

Bonnie's head rose, "Okay, there are just too many consequences of being with Klaus, and I shouldn't sit on the sidelines either, not with this kind of power. I'm in." Her jaw set out as she directed her next words to Elena, "And I'm sorry. But this thing you have with Buffy is not what you think it is."

Jeremy leaned forward, "Actually, Bonnie, Sunnydale turning into a crater wasn't her fault. Sheriff Forbes says that Buffy is legit. And so far, she's helped us out a lot. We would never have known about the hellmouth if it weren't for her."

Caroline frowned at the mention of her mom. She hated it anytime her mom got involved in this drama.

Elena let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Jer." Anything she was about to add became interrupted by a knocking at the door. A tight-lipped Damon strode to the front room before Elena turned to look.

"It's the slayer," he announced as he opened the door for Buffy and Spike.

She brought a sunny smile into the tense kitchen as she surveyed the group, "Ooh, it's like scoobies 2.0. So, what'd we miss?"

…

After Buffy was equipped with her own coffee and the short version of the rest of the night's events, she slouched in a chair. "We have no leads and we can't follow him through there, so we're stuck waiting until he comes out. The only play here is to pump up our defense, which...," she scans the others, "is fine if he has a couple new buddies, but if he comes through with a horde, we're kinda screwed."

"I could try sealing it back up by casting those spells, like it was supposed to be," Bonnie volunteered. "Then he'd be trapped in whatever dimension."

Spike shook his head, "Then he'll find a different hellmouth, apparently there's loads of the bloody things. It's better that we know where he comes out."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, I have critical input before we get too ahead of ourselves here," Damon spread his hands on the table. "Anya said that we're missing some of the prophecy. There's supposed to be more."

Alaric stood on his full weight, "No, there isn't. We got it all translated."

Elena's eyes widened as they bounced back from Damon to Alaric. Damon furrowed his brow, "Maybe something was mistranslated?" Alaric shook his head in answer.

"We had to run out early, didn't we?" Spike nods to Damon, referring to the fight with Rebecca. "Maybe she means we skipped another wall or two."

"That's true," Alaric conceded. "I didn't get a chance to go any deeper. But you two weren't able to come in all the way with me. So if I take another trip, only the non-vampires will be able to help out."

"New plan." Buffy stepped back into the conversation and gestured to Alaric and the Gilberts. "The four of us will handle spelunking. The rest of you are on rotating duty watching Fell's Church and," her hand pointed to Bonnie, "breaking Damon's compulsion to Klaus. If he comes out of the hellmouth, call in and we regroup here."

…

Alaric's car pulled into a leaf-covered clearing. "We'll have to walk from here."

"How much further will it be?" Buffy asked, slamming the passenger-side door shut.

"It's down that way," Alaric pointed east. "Not far, though. About fifteen minutes."

Elena and Jeremy followed the slayer's fast pace down the ridge. Jeremy turned to Elena after a few minutes and whispered, "Is she okay?" Elena shrugged. Buffy hadn't said a word otherwise. But she hadn't said much this morning outside of a few business-like phrases.

Jeremy ran to catch up and began to match her stride. He jammed his hands in his jacket pocket, trying to appear casual. "So, what do you do? Like hobbies?"

Buffy swiveled her head to look at Jeremy with surprised eyes. His tilted, shy smile reminded her that they were family. She faced ahead and answered without breaking her speed. "Shopping at the mall, dancing, going to the movies."

"Yeah? What kind of movies?" Jeremy kept pushing.

Buffy shrugged, "Whatever Xander makes me watch. Lately it's been superhero flicks." She struggled to remember the last movie she enjoyed. "Iron Man. I liked that one."

Now Elena caught up to them. "The movie with Robert Downey Jr.?" Buffy nodded, and they shared a sigh. "He's dreamy," Elena agreed.

"Dreamy? He's in the iron man suit half the time," Jeremy protested. "And he's way old."

"Not _that _old," Buffy smirked. "Anyway, imagine what I could do with a suit like that. I could evaporate demons with those hand-zappers." She held her hands out, "Pew, pew!"

The Gilberts laughed. "Who's Xander?" Jeremy asked.

Buffy smiled openly, "He's an old friend of mine from high school," her militant pace slowed to a fast walk. "I met Xander and Willow in high school, and they're still my best friends, though we don't see much of each other these days." Knowing that he'd prod more, she kept talking. "Xander helps me lead the other girls. He's not actually a leader, or a fighter," she paused briefly. "I guess he's their coordinator. And he can fight, just not as well as we can. Willow is my best girl friend."

Elena nodded, "You said she was a witch, right?"

"Yeah, she's getting some heavy-duty training right now, which is why she can't be here." Buffy looked up into the sky. "And Dawn's away at college. Even Faith is off fighting other demons," she stopped walking, thinking on her absent friends.

Elena put her hand on Buffy's back. "What's going on? Do you miss them?"

"I guess I do," Buffy smiled weakly. "I could use some friends right now."

Jeremy saw the lonely look in her eyes. "You've got us here, if you want it. Or we could get Spike over. I know he can't come into the caves, but I'm sure he could hang outside with you."

Elena shook her head, "It's about Spike, isn't it?" she asked. When Buffy stayed silent, she asked again, "Did he do something to you?"

Buffy laughed ruefully, "That's a loaded question with a lot of different answers. No," she sighed. "Not this time. He asked me to marry him."

Alaric finally caught up to the trio and kept his mouth shut. A few orange and brown leaves scattered on the ground as they deliberated. Elena spoke first. "I'd say congratulations, but you obviously didn't say yes."

Buffy tightened her lips. "I told him no. We have a history, and everyone else would freak out, and I'm a slayer..." She leaned against a tree. "I feel like I'm not done. I'm not a complete person yet."

Alaric approached, "It's not going to happen like that. People like you are never complete, because you have a mission. But if you're not ready to get married, then don't. I got married too young, and it ended badly..." Alaric looked at Elena and Jeremy, "Maybe it worked out in a way. But the years in between were hell, and it still hurts."

She rolled her eyes, "That was super enlightening advice."

Alaric patted her shoulder. "Sorry, I'm not a counselor, just a history teacher. All I have are anecdotes." When Buffy waved her hands with annoyance for him to continue, he floundered for a moment, then recognized the attitude she displayed in his old girlfriend.

"Jenna may not have had a singular purpose to her life like you, but she had a lot of love to give. I bet you do too," he responded with his voice on edge. Only one month ago they had buried her in the Mystic Falls graveyard. "There was a time that I wasn't totally honest with her, and she could see it. She wasn't a very observant person, but she could see through me anyway. It was unsettling, but I liked that she never put up with my bullshit. I had to be naked with her."

Elena and Jeremy nudged elbows with grins at each other.

"Knock it off," he warned. "You know what I mean. Anyway, I don't know you and Spike, but if you can read him like a book and he still wants your hand in marriage, then let me tell you that's a serious offer."

"That's something to think on," Buffy considered. She pushed off from the tree and away from the conversation. "Are we near the cave yet?"

Alaric pointed, "Yeah, it's right up there." The group walked the rest of the way, only breaking silence for mundane discussion. When they entered, Alaric passed out flashlights. They breezed past a wall filled with white symbols, "That's the one I found last time. If Anya's right, then there's supposed to be more." Their lights swung about the empty caverns.

…

Bonnie's spell books piled up on the coffee table in the Gilbert family room. Tyler and Caroline had left for the first shift watching the hellmouth site. Her almond shaped eyes assessed the books, then she sorted them into three sets. "If we each take one pile, then we'll be more likely to find something," Bonnie explained to Spike and Damon.

"Count me out, little Granger," Spike shook his head and brought out his phone. "I've got a research team of my own."

Damon picked up a book and opened it with a loud aside to Bonnie, "He can't read, anyway."

"That's right," Spike conceded, "I can't read upside-down like you." He smirked as he backed out of the room.

Damon groaned with an eye roll as he flipped the book around. Bonnie kept her smile to herself and picked out an unwieldy looking tome. They sighed in unison as they settled into the couch for a long morning of reading.

…

Spike sat in the front yard under a tree, running his fingers through the grass. "You sure there's nothing?"

"Yeah," Dawn ran her fingers along the book spines in her makeshift library. "The only solution is to kill the vampire that did it."

Spike cursed, "We really need Damon on our side in that fight. Buffy's got slayer issues, and our hybrid has sire issues. I'm already going to be looking over my shoulder at those two," he explained.

"It's that bad for her?" Dawn picked up a pencil and began tapping it on the desk while she cradled the phone with her other hand. Her gaze landed on the watcher diary for Lorraine.

Spike winced, "And Klaus knows it, too. He's enjoying it."

"Well," Dawn slouched, "I don't know if it would work, but maybe another Original could over-power Klaus' compulsion. But that's asking one of Klaus' brothers or sisters to go against him, and even if it worked, you'd just be replacing one compulsion with another."

"S'lot of 'ifs' in there," Spike shrugged to himself, "but it's a lead."

"Actually it might work," Dawn tapped her pencil lightly, warming up to the subject. "Klaus is dimensions away right now, so the compulsion bond between them will be stretched pretty thin. I wouldn't be surprised if he could overcome it right now. He will have to overpower it somehow, otherwise it will come right back when Klaus does."

Spike considered this. "What about finding out what kind of compulsion he's under? Is there a way for him to remember what Klaus has ordered him to do?"

"There's gotta be some kind of memory spell," Dawn looked at the books lining her wall, "but I haven't really studied spells yet. That's gonna be a question for your resident magic caster."

"Great." Spike scowled. "Talk to you later."

"No, no, no," Dawn interrupted him. "You owe me something."

He mentally reviewed all of the promises he'd made to Dawn over the years. "I do?"

"Yeah, an explanation. You guys have been in mortal peril thousands of times before, but I always get a little update and hi how are you chatter before getting into the books. The last couple of calls are just pumping me for intel, which I'm happy to give, but...is something going on? What's wrong?"

Spike could hear Dawn's concern and anger edging her words. "I really don't want to talk about it." She said no.

"Is it so bad that you can't spend five minutes with your friend catching up?" Dawn pushed.

"Yeah," Spike ripped up a tuft of grass and threw it into the breeze. She didn't want to be with him. "Talk to your sister about it."

"So it's the thing with Lorraine and Klaus?" Dawn didn't give up, "It's affecting your relationship?"

"No, it's not," Spike snapped. "I asked her to marry me, and she said no. I feel like an idiot for being in love with her all these years when she bloody well doesn't feel the same way."

"She loves you," Dawn was shocked. "Did she say why?"

He scoffed, "There was some inane cookie analogy."

Dawn fell silent, "...oh."

Spike's mouth dropped open. So little Dawnie had heard this analogy before. "Out with it."

"Um," Dawn stalled. "Well, the cookie analogy is the one about her being incomplete, and not feeling like a whole person. The problem is that slayers will never be complete until all vampires are eradicated. It's a really big theme in these watcher diaries. It's a huge part of the reason that slayers burn out so early – they know that their purpose is so impossible and daunting."

"One of the other watchers I'm studying with is really big into the behavioral studies thing, and he's writing his thesis on the self-defeating nature of being a slayer. It's not like you and me, we can choose our future, and we can choose what determines our success or failure, but she only has one set of parameters that define her life."

Spike rolled his eyes at Dawn's lengthy rambling and pulled out another blade of grass. She would hit on a point eventually, he hoped.

"He thinks that Buffy has a longer life-span than most other slayers because she also takes on the goals of her friends and family as her own, so she shares our experiences when we meet our goals. And perhaps now that there is a slayer army," Dawn sidetracks, "the goal of vampire eradication doesn't seem so insurmountable, so he thinks that many of the new slayers will be able to live well into their 30s and 40s, if not longer."

"So anyway, she feels incomplete, but that's always going to happen. We're constantly surrounded by movies and tv that says that when you find 'the one' that you'll be complete, or you should only get married when you've got your life in order," Dawn finished.

"Sounds like _you_ should write that dissertation, not your pal," Spike complained. "And it still doesn't mean that she couldn't have said yes anyway, if she actually loves me."

Dawn sighed. "She also..." she couldn't withhold the truth to Spike, "used that line on Angel."

His heart grew cold. "Now you see why I didn't want to talk to you about it. You're either studying her like a lab rat or comparing me to Angel. Great relationship adviser." He shut the phone and turned it off to keep her from calling back.


	19. Discoveries

_*Author's Note*_  
><em>Thank you for sticking with this story through this hiatus! I am extremely grateful for all of these fantastic reviews, and I am so glad you are enjoying this story. If you are a true completionist, you may want to re-read the previous chapters, as I have made some edits (all edits uploaded on 326). For those who are not, the plot and all events remain unchanged. I am shopping for a beta reader for pacing and characterizations. I am hoping to update at least 1/week until this story finishes. Hold onto your hats, because it's going to get...interesting..._

_Jeremy Gilbert finds something / Bonnie makes an amulet / What witches want_

Buffy's flashlight danced on the walls of the smaller room in this cavern. They found that the cave wasn't terribly large, but the rooms spidered out so there were lots of small areas to search. It was surprisingly dry, with no stactites hanging from its ceiling, nor puddles of water in its recesses.

"Nothing in here," she shouted to the others, who were fanned out among the cavern. After more fruitless searching, they all met up in the main room.

Alaric's thumb brushed against his ring finger, twirling it around as he spoke, "Maybe we're just not looking hard enough. Everyone switch quadrants, and give it another shot."

With a sigh, they moved on to each other's sections. Buffy looked around a room that Jeremy had searched already, and didn't find anything new. She let her hand drag along the walls, idly hoping that there was a lever or pressure plate nearby when she heard Jeremy's shout.

"I already looked through this place," she muttered to herself as she made her way to Jeremy who had taken over her previous search area. Jeremy's flashlight pointed straight at a blank wall. She looked at it expectantly, "Okay, so what did you find?"

"More symbols," Jeremy explained slowly, not sure why Buffy had trouble seeing the stark white writing, "Right there..." Alaric and Elena came in the room behind her. They saw Jeremy's flashlight waving emphatically at a wall, "It's huge!"

Alaric set down the lantern to illuminate the whole area. "I think you're the only one who can see it."

...

Spike clattered into the Gilbert house and glared at Damon and Bonnie for a few moments before sitting with them. Whatever problems he was having with Buffy could wait until he found a dive bar to drown his miseries in. "My source says that now's the time to try any compulsion protection charms, as you two are about as far as you can get physically, and that helps your chances." He addressed only Damon.

Damon considered this. "So I could choke down some vervain and resist it, even though it's an ongoing compulsion?" Bonnie shut her book slowly and leaned in closer to listen.

"Yeah, but when he comes back, so will it. You'll need something stronger to make it permanent." Spike stood up suddenly, addressing Bonnie now with a steady gaze. "By the way, if I hear a single peep out of you, ever, I'll snap your neck faster than you can say hocus pocus. Buffy hasn't forgiven you, but she's decided that she trusts Elena's judgement. I don't."

Bonnie's eyes widened at his threat, not sure how to react. Anger came first, and the lights in the room flickered for the briefest second before Damon noticed and smacked her on the back, "Smile and nod like a good girl to the scary man."

She gritted her teeth and nodded. All of the witch's power at her disposal singed in her nerves, raging that she submitted to a vampire. She tried to force it down with logic, _two powerful vampires who want to kill me means I should surrender_. It hurt worse, and a tear fell from her eye.

"Hnh." Spike sucked in his cheeks and shouldered his jacket. "Nice touch, crying." He turned and walked to the door, then talked over his shoulder to Damon, "I'll be around."

...

The Gilberts returned home to a smoky kitchen. In the haze they found Bonnie and Damon staring at the stovetop intently while Tyler and Caroline fiddled with something at the dining table. Buffy coughed and waved at the smoke, "What is going on?" Alaric quickly went around to the windows, drawing them open.

Caroline looked up with guilt on her face, "We got caught up in this and didn't even notice the smoke." She helped Alaric fan out the room and explained, "We're working on Damon's compulsion charm."

With some of the air cleared, they saw the source: a stewpot on the stove with multiple herbs choking out the air. Bonnie muttered parts of the spell lowly and without lifting her gaze from the potion, motioned at Damon. Damon broke his concentration and looked to Tyler and Caroline. "Is the necklace ready?"

"Yeah, I just finished hammering in the setting." Tyler picked up the strand carefully, the dark red pendant swinging freely. He pressed it into Damon's open palm and at another wave from Bonnie, Damon dropped it into the boiling, smoking pot.

A flash blinded them, and the pot banged loudly as it dropped back to the range.

Only Bonnie seemed unsurprised. She pulled it off of the hot burner and turned everything off. "When this cools down, it's all yours," she addressed Damon. "Drink the potion, wear the necklace, and you should be out of Klaus's compulsion as long as you continue wearing it. Take off the necklace for just a second, and you won't be protected anymore, even if you put it back on. For everyone else," she addressed the room, "keep some vervain with you so you don't get compelled in the first place."

Damon nodded. "I can't wait til we kill the bastard. Then I won't have to worry about it at all."

Buffy looked around the room, reviewing their status. "Well hey," she smiled, "two objectives met already. We've got the other prophecy here, thanks to Jeremy's ghost-vision. Just need to work on translation."

Jeremy set down his sketched pages and began arranging them in order. "It shouldn't take too long because we already know what most of these symbols mean."

Buffy glanced at the doorway. "Did Spike take over guard duty at Fell's Church?"

"Yes," Caroline answered. She had been surprised when he arrived at the site, obviously upset and not willing to talk about it. "Him and a couple bottles of Jack."

"That's my cue," Buffy picked her purse back up. "Call me when that prophecy's all figured out."

...

Alaric, Jeremy, and Tyler were downstairs working on the symbols while the girls went upstairs. Bonnie had pulled them away, claiming that this was important. Elena and Caroline sat on her bed, waiting while Bonnie paced back and forth.

"Okay, you know me, and I'm sorry, and all of that," she rushed out, wringing her hands, "But this is something different. Something's happening to me. Maybe it's been happening for a while, I don't know."

Elena and Caroline shared furrowed brows. Elena pulled a stubborn strand of her hair behind her shoulder, "You can tell us anything."

"I think it's this power," Bonnie tried to explain, "it doesn't like vampires. It makes sense, right? Because they're not part of the natural order."

"Bonnie, what happened?" Caroline sat closer to the edge of the bed, leaning towards Bonnie. The trio, despite their disagreements and betrayals, always ended up back with each other, and she tried to put on her best supportive face.

"When Spike threatened me this morning, my body was in so much pain, I couldn't even speak. And the charm should not have created a huge cloud of smoke." She forestalled their questions, "I know that he had every right to express his anger and I am sorry for hurting her. _Really._ And the charm will work just fine, the smoke was a side effect. But I think the power of these witches are trying to tell me something."

"They didn't like it when I resurrected Jeremy, either. Everything I want or feel, they seem to be fighting me every step of the way." Bonnie finally sat at the chair at Elena's desk, turning it to face them. "What's really weird is that they had nothing to say when I was trying to sabotage the spell last night. The power came easily to me, like they wanted me to do it."

Caroline pursed her lips and sat back again. "It sounds to me like they want the hellmouth open."

"Why?" Elena chimed in with concern. "Why would witches want to open a portal to some demonic hell?"


End file.
